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Licensing – FAQs & Troubleshooting

Flexibility is a guiding principle in both our HMI development process and our licensing model. HELIO is available as a Developer and Runtime License in various sizes. These sizes are categorized based on factors such as data sources, clients, and projects. This way, you only pay for what you need and can customize your licenses as required.

We understand there is quite a bit to learn. Hence, we're documenting all customer queries about licensing on this page.

Where can I find information about the licenses that are available?​

You can find a list of all licenses on the HELIO Website:
→ https://helio-hmi.com/en/pricing

What is the difference between Runtime and Developer License?​

With HELIO, you can choose between two types of licenses. The Developer License is required for your development machine while you're creating your HMIs and it has no limitations. The Runtime Licenses are needed for each target device where you plan to deploy your project. A Runtime License can be customized in size and capabilities to suit your specific use case perfectly.

Check out the differences between these license types:

Developer LicenseRuntime Licenses

Device

Dev machine of every team member participating in HMI engineering

Every target device that executes the HELIO Runtime to provide an HMI

Subscription

  • Yearly (No auto-renewal)
  • None

HELIO Updates

  • All HELIO updates within the subscription period can be installed and used.
  • By default target devices using a Runtime License are bound to a specific HELIO Version.
  • However, purchasing a Developer License empowers you to update HELIO on all devices using a Runtime License.

Sizeable

  • No

Limits

  • Not limited

How does HELIO determine the license limits?​

HELIO considers four factors when calculating the limits for the active license in your Runtime:

Number of projects

This refers to the total number of projects you can create in your HELIO Runtime.

Number of data sources

The number of data sources, or PLCs, that your runtime can connect to using the Data View of the Project Editor.

What's included in the count?

What's not included in the count?

  • Data Collections will not be counted. You can have as many collections as you like.

Number of variables

When creating your HMI and defining its data model using the Data View of the Project Editor, it is important to consider keep two limitations associated with runtime licenses in mind. This maximum number is available for each project of the runtime. So the number of variables do not add up across projects. Each projects starts with a fresh count.

What's included in the count?

  • Each HMI Variable in you project will be counted as one.
  • Each HMI Variable that are part of a List Item Blueprint will be counted as one.
  • Each HMI Data Method will be considered as one.

What's not included in the count?

  • Lists will not be counted.
    • Only the variables in the List Item Blueprint will be counted as one.
    • The actual length of the list is not important for the calculation.
  • Directories will not be counted.
  • PLC Variables will not be counted.

Number of connected clients

Every browser that connects to your HELIO Runtime is considered a client. For example the browser on the touch panel right next to the machine. But also the browser on the PC in the shift supervisor's office.

How can I check the current limits of the project I am working on in the HELIO IDE?​

Project Count

The Maximum Number of Projects can be determined from within the Welcome Page of the HELIO IDE:

Project limit on a target device equipped with a Runtime License S:

Project limit on a dev machine equipped with a Developer License:

Variable Count

Open your project using the Project Editor and navigate to the Data View. You can find both, the count of data sources as well as variables at the top the Data Source Explorer and HMI Data Explorer.

Variable limit on a target device equipped with a Runtime License S:

Variable limit on a dev machine equipped with a Developer License:

How do I purchase a license?​

You’ve exceeded the limits of your current license or would like to purchase a new one in order to deploy your project to a target device?

  1. Head over to the pricing page:
    → https://helio-hmi.com/en/pricing
  2. Locate the Contact section and get in touch with our Sales Team. Together we'll find the optimal approach for purchasing & managing your license volume.

Be aware that once you have activated a HELIO license on your device, you will not be able to use the activated license on another device.