Common purchasing, upgrading and licensing questions

Note that this FAQ has not yet been updated to reflect the new upgrade subscription model for Opus 13.


A number of questions relating to the Directory Opus licence are regularly asked on the forum - the most common ones are answered below.

  • What if I have a question that is not covered below?

    Please email sales@gpsoft.com.au if you have a question relating to licencing, purchasing or upgrading that isn't covered below.

    The forum is for technical support while sales and licencing questions are best handled individually via email.

  • I've installed Opus on my desktop, can I also use it on my laptop?

    If you bought Opus Pro for home use then yes you can - all standard Opus Pro licences come with a single free personal laptop licence. Note that Opus Light is the exception to this - a licence for Opus Light only entitles you to install it on a single machine. The free laptop licence is for personal use only - if you purchased Opus for business use (including under the GOLP corporate licencing scheme) then it doesn't apply.

  • I don't have a laptop! Can I use the free laptop licence on my desktop?

    Every Opus Pro SINGLE, DUAL or FIVE personal licence includes a single free personal laptop licence - the idea being, you buy a licence to use on your desktop and you can also install it on your laptop as well. If you have two desktops and no laptop then that's fine, we don't mind if you use your laptop licence on a desktop.

  • Can I use the free laptop licence at work?

    The answer to this is generally no. Not only is the free licence specifically designated for a "personal" laptop (i.e. one that you own), but the licence terms don't allow the one licence to be used at home and work as well. The one exception to this would be if you take your own laptop in to work every day.

  • Can I use a dual licence at home and work?

    As above, the answer to this is generally no. A multiple install licence is only intended for use at the one physical location. So if you have two computers at home, a dual licence lets you install and use Opus on both, but you would need a separate licence to also install it on your work PC.

  • Can I buy a dual licence and share it with my friend/brother/mother/cousin?

    Unless the person you want to share the licence with also lives with you, the answer to this is no. They would need their own licence - but feel free to drop us an email at sales@gpsoft.com.au to see if we can do you a deal :slight_smile:

  • I want to use Opus on a virtual machine or dual-boot system, do I need another licence?

    Generally, you do not need additional licences for VMs or in a dual-boot scenario. In general, one physical machine equals one install licence. That is, the physical machine the VM or VMs run on must have a licence, and you can also use these licences in the VMs. But you can't move a VM to another physical machine unless that machine also has a licence covering it.

    The exception to this would be when using a hosted VM like a Microsoft Azure cloud server, in which case you would need a separate licence for that virtual machine.

    If you aim to install Opus on a Terminal Server or similar machine with multiple concurrent users, please contact us for licencing details.

  • I've got a new computer, how do I move my licence over?

    There's nothing special you need to do. Simply uninstall Opus from your old machine (make sure you backup your configuration first using the Settings / Backup & Restore command) and then reinstall on your new machine using your existing licence certificate. If you've lost your certificate you can have it resent using the self-service support page on the GPSoftware website.

  • How do I buy additional install licences?

    You can add installs to your licence (to either two or five) by logging into the My Account page on the GP Software website. You'll need your registration code which you can find using the Help / Licence Manager command.

  • It only lets me buy two or five licences, but I want three!

    The online ordering system only supports one, two or five install licences but if you want three, four or any other number just drop us a line to sales@gpsoft.com.au and we'll sort you out.

  • How do I add USB Export or Advanced FTP to my licence?

    You can add the optional Advanced FTP feature or USB Export licences from the My Account page on the GP Software website.

  • I paid for the FTP or USB feature but it doesn't work!

    Add-on functions are controlled by the program certificate that you install into your copy of Opus. If you added on these features after your licence was issued you should have received a new program certificate via email. This needs to be installed using the Help / Licence Manager command to enable the new features. If you didn't get the new certificate you can retrieve it from the My Account page on the GP Software website.

  • I'm evaluating Opus and want to try Advanced FTP but it's not enabled!

    You're probably still using the default evaluation (or "stock") program certificate, which is installed automatically when you install the program. This lets you run Opus for 30 days without a licence, but the Advanced FTP feature isn't enabled as part of that. You can register for a free 60 day evaluation and the FTP features are fully enabled as part of that. If you've already registered for a 60 day trial and it's still not working, you probably haven't installed the new evaluation certificate which you should have received by email. Use the Help / Licence Manager command to install it.

  • I've already bought Opus, can I try the Advanced FTP feature?

    Yes you can, simply go to the My Account page on the GP Software website and you can add an Advanced FTP trial to your purchased licence.

  • I already paid for Advanced FTP, do I need to pay again when I upgrade?

    No you don't. Any optional features attached to your licence will carry across to your new licence at no extra charge.

  • I want to try Opus Light but the option to switch to it isn't showing up!

    The option to switch to Opus Light is only shown when using the default evaluation program certificate. If you've registered for a 60 day evaluation and installed the certificate then Opus will be locked into Pro mode. You can delete your program certificate and return to the default 30 day trial (providing that hasn't expired already) by going to /dopusglobaldata in a Lister (type that alias into the location field) and deleting the dopus.cert file. Then quit Opus and restart it - the option to switch to Light will show up in the Help / Licence Manager dialog.

  • I upgraded my single licence to Opus 12. Can I keep using Opus 11 on another machine?

    Not with the same licence you can't, no. When you redeem your old Opus licence for a discounted upgrade the old licence is cancelled. You would need to add an additional install licence if you wanted to use Opus on an extra machine.

  • I have five Opus 11 licences, can I just upgrade one of them to Opus 12?

    Not really, no. As above, when you redeem your old Opus licence for a discounted upgrade the old licence is cancelled. So in this case, if you upgraded to a single Opus 12 licence you would actually lose your additional four install licences altogether. Of course, if you decide you don't need five licences any more this may be acceptable - the choice is yours.

  • I upgraded to Opus 12 but it still says I'm using Opus 11!

    You probably just need to install Opus 12 :slight_smile: Upgrading your licence isn't enough, you need to install the new program as well. You can download it here.

  • I upgraded to Opus 12 and I hate it! Can I go back to Opus 11?

    If you want, sure. Your Opus 12 licence can be used with Opus 11 (or even Opus 10 or 9) if you really want. Opus 12 is much better though :slight_smile: If you're having troubles with the new version please ask on the forum for help as we'd much rather get you up and running on the new version than have you go back to the old one in disgust. Also remember please there are no refunds after purchase, so if you're not sure whether you really want Opus 12 please evaluate it (for up to 60 days) first.

  • I bought Opus and didn't get my licence in email - why not?!

    Generally our system sends your licence in real time, as soon as payment is made - so most likely, it's been caught by your spam filter - please check there first. Note that when paying by PayPal, we've noticed there's often a delay of a few hours between when you complete payment and when our system gets told about it - so if you paid by that method please be a little more patient. If you haven't got your licence within 24 hours you should definitely email us at sales@gpsoft.com.au and we'll look into it for you.

  • Do you have a maintenance plan?

    After many requests by corporate users we do now have the option of annual maintenance, which covers you for all upgrades (major and minor) as well as priority technical support. Email sales@gpsoft.com.au for more information. Note that unlike most companies we offer free, unlimited technical support even without paid maintenance - but if you do have a maintenance plan we'll be extra responsive :wink:

  • Do you offer a lifetime licence?

    In the sense that your Opus licence will never expire, yes we do. If you buy Opus 12 now you can keep using Opus 12 for as long as you like - the licence isn't a subscription that has to be renewed. If by "lifetime licence" you mean, can you pay once and keep getting new versions of Opus forever, then no, unfortunately we don't offer that sort of "lifetime licence". Please see the next question for why.

  • Why do I have to pay to upgrade? This is outrageous!

    Sorry, but that's life. We're just a small company (only three full-time employees) and we have food to buy, rent to pay and cats to feed. Despite what some people might assume, we aren't Microsoft or Adobe; we don't have vast resources and depend on the income from Opus upgrades to fund the thousands of hours of work that goes into each new major upgrade. If you like Opus and want to see it keep getting better, please support our efforts by paying an occasional upgrade fee. We really appreciate it!

12 Likes