Help · License
You paid and the key arrived by email; now the app has to accept it. This page covers where the key goes on Mac and on Windows, what every error message means and what to do about it, and how to move a license from one computer to another.
Nothing. Accepting a key changes what the app lets you do, never your photos: nothing is scanned, moved or re-organized when a key goes in. The limits simply lift, and the next run you start uses them. Deactivating works the same way in reverse — your folders stay exactly as they are.
On a Mac the key is kept in your macOS Keychain, which is why a reinstall on the same Mac can usually get it back without typing it again.
Mac · Settings → License → Paste license…
Open Settings in the sidebar and choose the License tab. Under Have a license key?, click Paste license…. In the window that opens, click I already have a license key at the bottom, paste the key into the field and press Activate (or Return).
The same I already have a license key link sits at the bottom of every upgrade window in the app, so you can also activate from whichever screen asked you to upgrade.
Windows · Settings → License → Have a key?
Open Settings, go to License, paste the key into Enter your license key… and press Activate.
Which code is the key
The long code in your purchase email, in the shape XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX. The
email also carries an order number, which is not the key. Copy and paste the key whole
rather than typing it — a missing or extra character is by far the commonest reason a key is refused.
Can't find the email? Search your inbox and spam folder for FolioSort. If it isn't there, write to support@foliosort.app from the address you paid with and we send the key again.
When it works
The window says Pro Unlocked! or Elite Unlocked!, and Settings → License now shows FolioSort Pro or FolioSort Elite with a green License active. Nothing needs restarting.
The red message under the key field names the case you are in. Here is each one and what to do — the wording is the app's own, the same on Mac and Windows.
“We don't recognize that license key.”
The server has no key spelled like that. Paste it again from the email instead of typing it, check you copied the key and not the order number, and check there is no space or line break at either end.
“That key is already in use on the maximum number of computers.”
Pro activates on 1 computer, Mac or Windows. Elite activates on 3 devices, in any mix of Mac and Windows. Free a slot by deactivating one of the computers (below). If that computer no longer exists — sold, broken, wiped — write to support@foliosort.app and we free the slot for you.
“We couldn't reach the licence server.”
A connection problem, not a key problem — and nothing was used up. Check you are online and try again. A VPN, a firewall or a filter on a work network can block the check; try from another network if it keeps happening.
“That license isn't active yet.”
You have probably just bought it. Give it a minute and try again; if it persists, write to support.
“That license has expired” · “That license is no longer active.”
The key was refunded or switched off. If that is a surprise, write to support@foliosort.app and we look it up.
Mac only · “Could not save the license to your Keychain.”
The key was accepted but macOS would not let FolioSort store it, so the activation was rolled back and no slot was used. Check that FolioSort is allowed to use your keychain in Keychain Access and try again. If the message adds that the rollback also failed, write to support before retrying, so a second attempt does not take a second slot.
“We couldn't activate that key.”
The general case, used when the reason isn't known. Check the key and try once more; if it keeps failing, write to support and include your Install ID (Settings → About → Install ID → Copy), which lets us find your case.
Deactivate License
Settings → License → Deactivate License (Deactivate on Windows). This computer goes back to the free plan and its slot is freed, so the same key activates on another one. Your photos, folders and Activity history are not touched, and you can activate here again later with the same key.
Mac only · Restore purchase
After reinstalling FolioSort on the same Mac: Settings → License → Restore, under Have a license key?. It recovers the license from your Keychain. If it answers No valid license found on this Mac, enter the key again — re-entering a key on a Mac that already had it releases the old activation first, so it does not use a second slot.
From Pro to Elite
You do not buy Elite again at full price: the upgrade page recognizes Pro owners and charges the difference. Elite comes with its own key — paste it the same way and it replaces the Pro one.
Mac and Windows on one key
Elite's 3 devices can be any mix — two Macs and a Windows PC, for example. Pro is one computer, which can be either. The key is the same on both platforms; only the place you paste it differs.
Offline mode
FolioSort checks the license with the server at most once a day. Without a connection it keeps every feature working for 7 days on the last successful check, and Settings → License shows Offline mode instead of License active. Go online once within that window and nothing changes. Your photos are never sent anywhere for the check — only the key.
License expired · License invalid
Shown in Settings → License when the last check was refused. The app falls back to the free plan until it is sorted out; nothing you organized is undone. Write to support with your Install ID.
FAQ
On a Mac: Settings, then the License tab, then Paste license… under Have a license key? — click I already have a license key, paste the key and press Activate. On Windows: Settings, then License, paste the key into Enter your license key… and press Activate. Every upgrade window in the app also has an I already have a license key link at the bottom.
Almost always because a character is missing or extra. The key is the long code in your purchase email, in the shape XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX. Copy and paste it whole instead of typing it, and make sure it is the license key and not the order number.
On the old computer open Settings, then License, and choose Deactivate License (Deactivate on Windows). That frees the slot and the same key activates on the new computer. If the old computer is gone or broken, write to support@foliosort.app and we free the slot for you.
Only occasionally. It checks the license at most once a day, and without a connection it keeps working for 7 days on the last successful check, showing Offline mode in Settings. After that it needs to go online once.