11,582 questions
Read the license information from a dll
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(188.79999999999998, 44%, 28%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EAT%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Akshara Thangam
1
Reputation point
I have a requirement to detect and read the license with which a dll is built in visual studio
From what I've explored I understood that the .licx file added to the project will be transformed into a .licenses binary file and will be embedded with the output dll. When the output dll is loaded, we are able to see that a .licenses file is embedded into the project, but not able to read the license information within that file. Is there a standard way to read the .licenses file or read the license information of the dll?
Is it possible for us to know the license information that is embedded within the dll?
Developer technologies | C#
{count} votes
-
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(115.19999999999999, 4%, 21%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3ETY%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Timon Yang-MSFT 9,606 Reputation points2021-06-25T06:00:33.31+00:00 @Akshara Thangam
Is it embedded as a resource file?
Is this method useful for this?
How to Access Resources Folder (C#.net) -
Akshara Thangam 1 Reputation point
2021-06-25T07:09:22.043+00:00 @Timon Yang-MSFT The .licx file will be embedded as an EmbeddedResource within the .csproj file. After compilation the .licenses file will be embedded into the dll. I tried reading the resources embedded within the dll using the assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName) method and it worked for text files whereas for a .licenses file it didn't work.
-
Timon Yang-MSFT 9,606 Reputation points
2021-06-25T08:56:54.017+00:00 @Akshara Thangam
I searched for more information and consulted some other engineers.
Unfortunately, we seem to be unable to do so.
Because different software developers have different methods of proof license, there is no uniform method, so Microsoft does not and cannot provide any method to read it. -
Akshara Thangam 1 Reputation point
2021-07-19T03:53:45.187+00:00 @Timon Yang-MSFT , We explored and came across a method like LicenseManager.CurrentContext.GetSavedLicenseKey(type, assembly). We tried to read the license information embedded in the dll using the GetSavedLicenseKey() method, but it returned null. Do you think this method can help us get the license information if we use it in the right way?
-
Timon Yang-MSFT 9,606 Reputation points
2021-07-20T03:18:39.76+00:00 @Akshara Thangam
I am not sure.
This is the source code of this method: GetSavedLicenseKey Method
You can copy it locally and call it, and then you can easily debug it to see where the method returns null.
Sign in to comment
Sign in to answer