General Notes

Registering and Unlocking the Software

TinkerTool System 10 is electronically distributed software which is offered following a “First try, then buy” principle. You can download the application free of charge and test whether it fits your needs. You can select between two different modes of testing the program, named Evaluation Mode and Demo Mode.

Evaluation Mode

Evaluation mode allows you to use the software without any limitations, no matter if you own a registration or not. Only the following restriction applies:

You can launch the application six (6) times per computer only. After six launches, evaluation mode will end and can no longer be enabled for any copy of this application having the version number you have evaluated. After the evaluation period has ended, the program will fall back to demo mode.

Certain conditions must be met to activate evaluation mode, however. To check whether your computer is eligible to test the current version of the application, it has to request permission from us via Internet. This permission is also known as evaluation ticket. Such a ticket is usually issued immediately, after a few seconds. To receive a ticket, the following conditions must be met:

• In order to save the ticket, you must have administrative permission for this computer. macOS may ask for administrator credentials.
• The computer must be connected to the Internet while requesting the ticket. For evaluation and operation of the program, an Internet connection will no longer be necessary.
• The Internet connection must not filter https traffic (encrypted web communication).
• You must grant the application permission to send us data containing
  • type and version number of the application,
  • an identification of your computer (e.g. a serial number of the hardware),
  • an identification of your Internet connection (e.g. the IP address), giving us permission to record these items.

The program will explicitly ask for this permission before any data will be sent and a ticket will be requested. After a valid ticket has been received, it will be stored on your computer and the application will be unlocked for evaluation.

Demo Mode

Without a valid registration (and after the free evaluation period has ended), the application will operate in demo mode only.

• A window with the note Running in Demo Mode appears each time the application is started.
• The window Running in Demo Mode also appears whenever you attempt to use a feature which is not included in the following list. This feature will be blocked, so it cannot be used.

The following features of TinkerTool System can be used in demo mode:

• Repairing the shared user folder
• Evaluate RAM size in relation to typical workload
• Removal of old versions of the emergency tool (Standalone Utility)
• Displaying system information
• Displaying processor information
• Displaying the Safe Downloads List (malware protection)
• Displaying the deny lists for App Nap, HiDPI, and application launch
• Accessing classic logs and reports
• Analysis of file contents
• Display of Spotlight metadata for files
• Analysis of the security assessment for applications
• Computation of effective permissions
• Setting user preferences to override the language for specific applications
• Overview and analysis of all jobs auto-started for the current user
• Displaying different definitions of free storage space on volumes
• Display of advanced user account information
• Resetting all system settings which might have been changed to factory defaults

Unrestricted Usage

If you like to use the software permanently, you’ll have to place an order for the required number of usage licenses. For each license you will receive a so-called registration which will allow you to switch the application from demo mode to normal operation.

Distributing or leasing the application or its license to third parties is prohibited without prior written permission. In particular, you have no permission to transfer the registration to somebody else. The exact contractual obligations for licensing the software are shown and can be printed after you have opened the downloaded software package.

Ordering Registration Files

Placing an order for registrations of TinkerTool System 10 is possible via our distribution partner and is usually done via Internet. Delivery is possible worldwide. Payments are accepted in more than 130 different international currencies, with common payment options supported for the respective regions.

To learn more about placing orders, please use the following Internet page of TinkerTool System 10:

For first written information, you can alternatively select the menu item Help > Purchase Registration… in the application.

Unlocking the Software with a Registration Key

Unlocking the software requires that your computer is connected to the Internet. (If you don’t have an Internet connection, an alternative solution might be possible, but only in specific cases. Contact us for more information.) You should have received your registration key from the software reseller after your order had been processed successfully. Note that the key code represents a value, so it should be archived at a safe place, e.g. by printing it on paper or saving it into a password manager. If you had ordered multiple licenses for the same application, you will have received separate keys for each copy.

To unlock the application, perform the following steps:

1. Launch the application. The window Demonstration Mode will appear. Click the button Unlock…. (If the application was running already and the demo window had been closed, you can also select the menu item TinkerTool System > Unlock TinkerTool System….) The window Registration and Activation will appear.
2. Transfer the registration key exactly as you have received it into the field Registration Key. You can type the data manually. However, if you currently have the registration data on the order web page or the delivery email on the same computer, it will be easier to transfer the data by the features Edit > Copy (⌘ + C) and Edit > Paste (⌘ + V).
3. The application will be unlocked via Internet, and you’ll eventually see a window which confirms your successful registration. In case of multiple licenses, the window will also inform you which key out of which order you have used.

If your Internet connection is not working correctly, or in the rare case that all licensing servers have technical problems, you will receive a related error message. In that case, please follow the instructions given in that message.

The registration becomes valid for all user accounts of that computer.

Entering a Crossgrade or Upgrade Registration

We may offer special licenses that permit to switch from a different product to the current version of TinkerTool System. In this particular case, it could happen that two registrations must be entered to unlock the program: one for the current application, and one for the application you previously used. The steps are the same as outlined in the previous sections, you only have to perform them twice. Please take care not to confuse the two different registrations.

Earlier versions of our software may have been supplied with different types of registration over the past few decades. You are therefore asked which type of registration you previously received.

• If you received a simple registration key for the previous product, enter it into the corresponding field.
• If you received a registration file for the previous product, drag the file from the Finder onto the window.
• If you received a pair of name and key for the previous product, enter the data into the two fields in the upgrade sheet of the window.

If the previous product is still on your computer and fully unlocked, you will not be asked to provide a proof of purchase for the previous product.

Deactivate the Registration

You can deactivate the registration any time. Please perform the following steps:

1. Select the menu item TinkerTool System > Manage registration….
2. Click the button Remove registration in the product registration panel.

Handling Updates and Migrations

You usually don’t need to care about your registration if you replace your copy of the application by a free update. Just drag the icon of the new version into the same folder where you have stored the previous version. The Finder will ask you if the old copy should be replaced. After the new version has been copied, you can simply launch it, and your registration will still be intact.

When migrating to a new computer, the situation could be different: You will need to activate your registration once again, using the instructions given previously in this chapter. However, if you have transferred all your previous data using Apple’s Migration Assistant, which is always recommended, this step is simplified: in this case, TinkerTool System asks whether it should attempt to reactivate the software without requiring you to re-enter any data.

Please note that this dialog window can sometimes be partially obscured by other product activation windows. If you are expecting a semi-automatic activation following a successful data migration, please check if the window is occluded in the background.

Working with Volume Licenses

If you need software licenses for an organization with a large number of computers, a single volume license can be used more efficiently than having separate licenses for each system. We may offer site licenses (for use on all computers of an organization located at one contiguous geographical site), and global licenses (for use on all computers of an organization worldwide), depending on product.

Please note the following guidelines:

1. Customers with Volume Licenses can download the latest standard version of the software from the official web site.
2. One copy of the application must be registered with the key of the volume license, using the normal method outlined in this chapter.
3. For that copy, the administrator enables a special feature of the application to generate an Automatic Registration Request File for Volume Licensing.
4. When copying the application onto a different computer of the organization, the request file must additionally be copied into a specific folder.
5. The first time the additional copy is launched, it will automatically register and activate the license.

So instead of just copying the application package only, a single additional file must be copied onto the destination computer. Note that each computer requires a working Internet connection when launching the application for the first time.

Generating Request Files for Automatic Volume Licensing

Ensure that you have already registered the application on one computer. Then perform the following steps:

1. Launch the application and open the menu TinkerTool System.
2. Hold down the option (⌥) key and select the menu item Show Advanced Registration Features. A window with a list of options will open.
3. Choose the option Create auto-registration request for site license or global license and click the Start button.
4. A navigation sheet will open, asking for a destination folder to save the file. Select a folder of your choice.
5. The application creates the request file in that folder. The file name ends with the marker mbsalicreq. You must not rename the file. Archive the file at a safe place, so you can distribute it to other computers of your organization later.

Using the Automatic Registration Request File

Each time you need to install the software on a new computer of your organization, you can have the application automatically register itself:

1. Copy the application bundle to the target computer.
2. Copy the auto-registration request file into the folder /Users/Shared of the target computer.

That’s all. The application will auto-register as soon as it is launched. When the volume license could be confirmed via Internet, the auto-registration request file is automatically removed, so it cannot fall into wrong hands.