How to License the WPF HTML Editor

Starting with version 3.x, the WPF HTML Editor uses a license-key activation system that replaces the older download-the-unlocked-DLL workflow. You install the same NuGet package (SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF) for both trial and licensed use, and unlock the licensed mode at runtime by assigning your purchased license key to the WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey static property.

Where to find your license key

After you purchase the WPF HTML Editor, sign in to your My Account page on the SpiceLogic website and open the purchase record for this product. Each order shows a license key string that is bound to your purchase. Copy the entire key exactly as it appears.

Apply your license key in code (C#)

Set the license key once, as early as possible in the application lifetime, before any window that hosts the editor is constructed. The WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey property is static, so a single assignment activates every editor instance in the process. The most reliable place is the OnStartup override of your App class in App.xaml.cs:

using System.Windows;
using SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF;

namespace MyWpfApplication
{
    public partial class App : Application
    {
        protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e)
        {
            WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY-HERE";
            base.OnStartup(e);
        }
    }
}

Apply your license key in code (VB.NET)

VB.NET projects activate the editor exactly the same way. Override OnStartup in Application.xaml.vb:

Imports System.Windows
Imports SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF

Class Application
    Protected Overrides Sub OnStartup(e As StartupEventArgs)
        WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY-HERE"
        MyBase.OnStartup(e)
    End Sub
End Class

XAML usage note

The editor itself is declared in XAML the usual way. The license key is not a XAML-settable property; it is a static .NET property and must be assigned from code-behind (typically App.xaml.cs / Application.xaml.vb as shown above). Reference the WPF namespace in your XAML and drop the control into any window or user control:

<Window x:Class="MyWpfApplication.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:wpfEditor="clr-namespace:SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF;assembly=SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF"
        Title="My Editor Window" Height="600" Width="900">
    <Grid>
        <wpfEditor:WpfHtmlEditor x:Name="MyEditor" />
    </Grid>
</Window>

Trial mode vs licensed mode

If WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey is left unset, or is set to an invalid string, the control runs in trial mode. Trial mode is fully functional for evaluation, but it advertises its trial state through visible nag indicators inside the editor surface. Once a valid key is assigned at startup, every editor instance in your process runs in licensed mode with all trial markers removed.

Verifying activation

Run your application after wiring up WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey. If the key is accepted, the trial nag indicators disappear from every editor instance in the running process. If they are still visible, double-check that:

• The key string was copied exactly from My Account, with no leading or trailing whitespace and no line breaks pasted in.
• The assignment runs before the first window that hosts a WpfHtmlEditor is constructed. If you set it from a window constructor or a click handler, earlier-instantiated editors will not pick it up.
• You are running the licensed NuGet package (SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF) and not an older custom-built DLL from a previous major version.

Source Code license customers

The Source Code license gives you an extra folder containing the full C# source of the editor. That source has the license-key logic stripped out. If you reference those projects directly from your own solution and build the editor from your copy of the source, it runs in licensed mode automatically — no WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey assignment is needed.

You are not required to build from source. You can keep using the SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF NuGet package and set WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey at startup, exactly like a Developer License customer would. The Source Code license simply gives you the option to switch from the NuGet package to the included source when you need to customize the editor's internals, debug into the source, or satisfy a procurement requirement that every third-party component ship with source.

Upgrading from earlier versions

Earlier (pre-3.x) versions of the WPF HTML Editor shipped two separate NuGet packages or DLLs: a freely downloadable trial assembly and a separate "unlocked" assembly that customers had to download from My Account after purchase. That dual-package workflow is no longer used. To upgrade:

1. Remove any reference to the old unlocked DLL from your project.
2. Install (or update to) the current SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WPF NuGet package — this single package now covers both trial and licensed modes.
3. Add the WpfHtmlEditor.LicenseKey assignment shown above in your App.xaml.cs startup code.

No XAML changes are required — existing <wpfEditor:WpfHtmlEditor /> declarations continue to work unmodified.