Known Issue: Unable to License Using FME Licensing Assistant in FME 2021.x

Symptom

When trying to license FME Desktop 2021.0 or .1 for the first time, some users may get stuck on a page with the message: “This version of FME Form is no longer supported for trial licensing.” This page unfortunately does not allow you to specify either a fixed or a floating license. Note that FME Desktop was rebranded to FME Form in 2023.

Cause

Due to a reimagining of our charitable licenses program, there has been a change to how we provide our evaluation licenses, and it is no longer requested through the Licensing Assistant.

Resolution

This issue has been fixed for FME Desktop 2021.2 and newer. Upgrading to FME Desktop 2021.2 and newer will allow you to license FME normally through the FME Licensing Assistant. You can download the latest official build of FME Form from our website or navigate to the Past Versions to find FME Desktop 2021.2.

However, if you are unable to upgrade at this time, there are two possible options to workaround the issue:
 

Workaround

Option 1: Move Existing Licensing Files

For a fixed license and if you are upgrading from a previously licensed build, you can move the fme_licensing.fmelic file to C:\ProgramData\Safe Software\FME\Licenses for Windows. See Where does FME Desktop Licensing Assistant create the license files? for the common file path locations for other platforms like Linux and MacOS.

If you are unable to locate the file, you can manually request a new file on our FME Form License Activation page to obtain the *.fmelic file to place in the licenses directory.

For a floating license, you can move the three .dat files to the new location following the resource above on the directory location for your platform.

Option 2: Specify the License Through the Command Line

Use this option for specifying a floating license if you do not have existing licensing files to move to the correct location.

The syntax below is for Windows:
Change directories to the FME install folder and run the fmelicensingassistant.exe like below:
Cd C:\Program Files\FME\2021.1\fmelicensingassistant.exe --floating <server>[:<port>] <license edition>

Where <server> is replaced by the license server name with an optional port specified, and <license edition> is a valid edition listed in Specifying the FME Edition to Use (FME 2021 documentation).

For example, it could look like:
C:\Program Files\FME\2021.1_build21627x64\fmelicensingassistant.exe --floating licenseServerName smallworld

Once this is run, you should be able to see three .dat files generated in this location: C:\ProgramData\Safe Software\FME\Licenses