HI @martin - just trying to install the offline editor for MacOS (v5.0.6-arm64) for the first time, I am getting a security warning when trying to launch the installed app for the first time - is that expected?
@Phommed have you downloaded the app recently? The original version was not signed, but the latest (5.0.6) is signed and should not give this warning:
Two ways to go about that:
- copy the Machine code in the Settings windows in the app.
- or, click the Activate online button in the same window, it will take you to the online app and will pre-fill the Machine code.
Let me know if works your computer. Thanks!
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I downloaded it from here: Electra One Computer Suite | Electra One
ElectraOne-5.0.6-mac-arm64.dmg.
Installing it on my MBP M1 Pro 26.6.2 (25G83)
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ok, I will double check the installer. It should be signed and notarized.
Martin, I feel soooo stupid… I didn’t even notice that there was a machine code in the offline app’s settings tab. Copying and pasting worked fine.
However, as I posted earlier, clicking on the Activate Online didn’t change anything: this takes me to the “starting” page of my online app. So I had to manually go to My Licences → Activate Another Computer.
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No need to feel stupid, or perhaps I am too. Even after reading your post, it took me a few minutes to find the machine code. If anyone else is struggling, it’s in the last sentence of the small print at the bottom of Settings → Licence in the offlline app:
So did I.
One of the main arguments for having an offline editor, at least for me, would be that you could continue to work with your controller, should it ever happen that the online editor is not available anymore (which we don’t hope). The offline editor requiring a computer-specific license that requires online activation works against this idea. (Once your licensed computer dies, you cannot use the offline editor anymore, because you can no longer generate a license for a different computer.) If it is necessary for the offline editor to require a license (ideally, it wouldn’t need one at all), would it be possible to link it to something like the serial number(s) of your controller(s), i.e., it could only communicate with controllers you have a license for? That way you would only lose the ability to use the offline editor when all of your controllers die, but then you wouldn’t need it anymore.
Yes, this is a classic problem with per computer licencing. Even if you computer did not die, you might forget to remove its licences before you get rid of it and buy a new one. Both scenarios have happened to me. I’ve found vendors always provide workarounds: provide a way for the user to remove the licence for a specific computer online; or the vendor manually removes the licence at the user’s request; or when the user starts using the app on a third computer, the licence gets automatically revoked for the computer where the app was least most recently used. I can’t comment of how that will work out for Electra One, but no doubt they will address the issue, if they have not already.
The offline editor is designed with exactly this in mind. I experienced something similar with a Zmorph 3D printer/CNC. It wasn’t a cheap machine, and Zmorph went belly up a few years ago. I had to hack both the software and the machine to keep using it. From today’s perspective, with AI making such hacks much easier, all that effort back then feels like a waste of time. Nevertheless, the machine still mills the wooden back panels for Electra One Mini every day.
Long story short, should anything happen to Electra One and we have to shut down the online editor, all users will receive an option to download a version of the offline editor that requires neither a machine-specific activation code nor an online activation. They will be free to use and copy the software as they wish. I think this is more about how a company chooses to behave when it goes bankrupt or exits the business than about a technical issue.
Important to mention: The offline editor includes built-in firmware images for the mk2 and Mini, along with a low-level flash programmer. This allows users to perform a true factory reset of their controller and recover from virtually any issue, unless there is a real hardware problem.
Again, this is a safety feature for users, ensuring they can always recover their controllers, even if Zdenek and I retire, end up in jail, or die. 
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It’s really nice of you to offer a license to E1 users! I’ve had the offline editor installed for a couple of weeks. However, I’m struggling to get my license. I clicked the ‘claim’ button once I found it, but I haven’t received an email and no license shows in My Licences. My Machine Code isn’t entered automatically either, but I’ve managed to track that down now. Seems I’m at a dead end when it comes to activation.
I am currently finishing work on the firmware. Once I am done with it, I will improve the procedure to claim and activate the licenses. It seems to be too confusing to many of you.
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Thank you, Martin! Good to hear that we would get a version that does not require a license, if the website had to be taken down.