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Offline Registration (for restricted networks)

The standard activation flow requires an outbound Internet connection to access our registration server. There are a number of cases where this isn’t possible or desirable, for example:

  • Corporate proxy server — AceViewer should work through most corporate proxies, but there may be cases where it is blocked.
  • Air-gapped or isolated networks — engineering or manufacturing environments deliberately disconnected from the internet.
  • Strict firewall rules — outbound HTTPS to arbitrary domains is blocked by policy.
  • Security or compliance requirements — some organizations forbid desktop software from making outbound calls to third-party services as a matter of policy.
  • Temporary connectivity problems — the activation server is unreachable for any reason and you need to get the user productive now.

For this reason, AceViewer includes a separate utility to perform an offline registration by exchanging two small files with Winsby Group support — no outbound connection from the customer’s machine is required.

How AceViewer launches the offline client

When you choose Help > Registration… and the in-app activation cannot reach the server, AceViewer automatically falls back to launching RegClient.exe. You can also run it directly from the AceViewer install folder if you’d rather start with the offline workflow from the start.

Step 1 — Send your machine code and license key to support

On the customer’s computer:

  1. Open RegClient (either via the AceViewer fallback or by running RegClient.exe from the install folder).
  2. Enter your License Key.
  3. Click Copy to copy the auto-generated Machine Code to the clipboard.
  4. Email both the license key and the machine code to support@winsbygroup.com.

The machine code is a one-way hash — it doesn’t expose hardware serial numbers, just a stable fingerprint that matches only this one machine.

Step 2 — Winsby Group generates a registration file

Using the machine code and license key you provided, support creates a manual registration in the license server admin and exports a small JSON registration file. This file contains your expiration date, maintenance date, license key, and a hash that ties it to your machine code. Support emails the file back to you.

The file is safe to send by email or copy on a USB drive — it is only valid on the machine whose code was used to generate it.

Step 3 — Load the registration file in RegClient

On the customer’s computer:

  1. Open RegClient.exe again.
  2. Choose File > Load From File…
  3. Select the JSON file you received from support.

RegClient validates the hash, confirms the machine code matches, and saves the file to the same location (C:\ProgramData\Winsby Group LLC\AceViewer\AceViewerReg.json) that the online flow uses.

Step 4 — Restart AceViewer

Start AceViewer. It picks up the registration on launch and the status bar shows Registered. From this point on AceViewer behaves identically to a machine activated online — no further connection to reg.winsbygroup.com is required for normal operation.

Renewing an offline license

When an offline-registered license expires, repeat the same exchange: open RegClient, copy the machine code, send it (along with your license key and renewal payment confirmation) to support, and load the new JSON file when it arrives.

Revised: 2026-05-01
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