Problem Description

When RAM Elements is opened, it also retrieves a RAM Connection license. This behavior may not be desirable for the following reasons:

1. An engineer is not modeling connections within RAM Elements, causing unnecessary license usage.
2. Another engineer using RAM Connection Standalone requires access to the program at the same time.

Reason

By default, RAM Elements release 13.00.03.45 and earlier enables connection integration features within the program if the RAM Connection for RAM Elements component is installed. Starting with Ram Elements 13.02.00.99, which uses trust licensing, we changed the default behavior so that users have to opt-in to utilizing Ram Connection. If a RAM Connection license is available, the program will retrieve a license automatically and add buttons for Connections, Bolts, and Welds to the Databases ribbon. If the integration features are not needed, this behavior can be disabled.

Steps to Resolve

Option 1: Disable RAM Connection integration within RAM Elements.

If an engineer only occasionally models connection data within RAM Elements, the integration can be disabled from within RAM Elements itself and turned on only when needed.

1. Open the E menu in the upper left.
2. Click the General Configuration button in the lower right corner.
   
3. In the window that appears, click the Licenses tab.
4. Then clear the checkbox labeled "Check RAM Connection license" (or "Use a license in each session").
   
5. Click OK to save changes.

RAM Elements will disable the RAM Connection integration features and will no longer automatically retrieve a license or log usage for RAM Connection.

Ram Elements should then be restarted.

Option 2: Remove the RAM Connection for RAM Elements component.

For RAM Connection 8.0 only, the integration component, which is called RAM Connection for RAM Elements, is installed separately. If an engineer will never model connections within RAM Elements, uninstall the RAM Connection for RAM Elements component from the Add or Remove Programs (Windows XP) or Programs and Features (Windows Vista/7/8) control panel. RAM Elements will then retrieve a license only for itself regardless of the license setting in the Configuration dialog. Users of RAM Connection 7.3 and earlier should use Option 1 to disable integration.

Converse

If you always want the Ram Connection features to be available in Ram Elements then check the box that indicates to "use a Ram Connection license in each session". In some cases ram Elements users must still click Start during each session to enable the Ram Connection features. This will be fixed with Ram Connection 10, but in the meantime there is a small installer that can be run to repair it. Use this only with Ram Elements 13.3.x.x and Ram Connection 9.2.x.x.

See Also

[[RAM Connection is installed, but the Connection button fails to appear in RAM Elements]]

[[RAM Connection v9.0 and RAM Elements]]

[[SELECTsupport TechNotes and FAQs]]