License and trial

Dictate comes with a free 14 day trial. After that one x4ops subscription unlocks it and every x4ops app. This guide explains the trial and the key and the computers it covers and what happens offline.

The 14 day trial

The trial starts on the first launch on a computer and lasts 14 days. The trial copy is the full app. There is no account and no sign up.

The trial starts with one online contact between Dictate and the x4ops license server at license.x4ops.com. The server records the first start it saw for that computer so the 14 days count from that date whatever happens to the files on the computer. A computer that never reaches that server cannot start the trial. Write to support@x4ops.com in that case.

A banner at the top of the Settings window and the History window shows the days left. When the trial ends Dictate still opens and keeps your settings and models and history. The hotkeys stop inserting text. The first press after the end shows a dialog with two buttons. Enter license opens the License group of Settings. Buy opens the pricing page.

The subscription

One x4ops subscription costs 9.99 EUR every 6 months and covers every x4ops app with every update. The Buy button on the pricing page opens the checkout. The card renews by itself every 6 months until you cancel.

After the payment you receive two emails within minutes. The receipt comes from Stripe. The license key comes from support@x4ops.com. Keep both. The same key works in every x4ops app. The key reads as four groups of four letters and digits.

Enter the key

Open Settings from the menu and scroll to the License group or pick Enter license in the menu. Paste the key into the field and click Activate. Dictate contacts the license server once and the state line reads that the license is active with the end date of the paid period. The trial banner disappears and the hotkeys insert text again at once.

One key on up to 3 computers

One subscription is for one person on up to 3 computers that you use yourself. Each computer activates the key once through the license server. The x4ops subscription covers every x4ops app so a computer counts once however many x4ops apps it runs. A fourth computer is refused until a seat is freed. A team buys one subscription per person.

Move the key to another computer

Open Settings and the License group and click Remove license. Dictate tells the server that the seat of this computer is free. The x4ops subscription covers every x4ops app with one seat per computer so every x4ops app on this computer asks for the key again after that. Do this before you sell or wipe a computer.

Offline use and the daily check

Once activated Dictate checks the key with the license server about once a day while the computer is online. The check carries a hash of the key and a hash of the machine and the app version and nothing else. Dictate works offline for 30 days after its last check and then needs one check before it inserts text again. The daily check also brings the end date of the paid period so Dictate can show it and stop at it.

Renewal and cancellation and refunds

You cancel at any time in your Link account at link.com. The key stays active until the end of the period you paid for. After that Dictate opens and keeps your settings and the first press shows the dialog with a Renew button. When a renewal payment fails the key stays active for 3 days and then stops until a payment succeeds.

Ask for a refund of the current payment within 14 days of it by email to support@x4ops.com with your receipt. You receive that payment back and the subscription ends and the key stops working at its next daily check.

A key that is refused

A refused key shows a sentence under the field that names the reason.

The sentence that this key does not cover Dictate means the key comes from a purchase that is not the x4ops subscription. The x4ops subscription covers every x4ops app. Write to support@x4ops.com with your receipt when a key from the x4ops subscription does not open Dictate.

The sentence that every seat is taken means the key is active on 3 computers already. The sentence that the key is unknown means a typing error or a refunded key. The sentence that Dictate could not reach the server means the computer is offline or a firewall blocks license.x4ops.com. Dictate tries again on the next start and you can click Activate again when you are online.