Advanced installation and activation
Overview
This page covers advanced installation and activation scenarios for Tabular Editor 3: manual (offline) activation, registry-based license management, silent deployment, and Enterprise seat administration.
For the standard activation flow, see Installation and Activation.
Manual activation (no internet)
If you do not have access to the internet, for example due to a proxy, Tabular Editor prompts you to do a manual activation.
After entering your e-mail, a dialog appears with a link to an activation key. Copy the URL and open it in a web browser that is connected to the internet.
The URL returns a JSON object:
Copy the full JSON object and paste it into the dialog. Your manual activation dialog ends up looking like the screenshot below.
Your Tabular Editor 3 license is then verified.
Changing seats on Enterprise Edition
To change an Enterprise seat, deregister the existing user from the seat through the Tabular Editor Self-Service portal. The subscription owner or license administrator creates an account, or logs in with an existing one, to administer the license seats.
Note
Changing a user is only possible on the Enterprise Edition.
Registry details
Tabular Editor 3 stores activation details for each Windows user under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3.
| Value | Type | Content |
|---|---|---|
LicenseKey |
REG_SZ |
The license key |
User |
REG_SZ |
The e-mail address of the licensed user, for multi-user licenses |
ActivationKey |
REG_SZ |
The activation returned by the licensing service |
Activation |
REG_SZ |
An activation written by older versions of Tabular Editor 3. Tabular Editor 3 deletes it the next time it stores an activation |
InstallationDate |
REG_QWORD |
The first launch of Tabular Editor 3 for this Windows user. Tabular Editor 3 creates it on launch if it's missing |
To view the current license key for the active Windows user, run the following command in the Windows Command Prompt (Start > Run > cmd.exe):
REG QUERY "HKCU\Software\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3" /v LicenseKey
You can also use regedit.exe (Windows Registry Editor) and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3 to view and modify the values.
A system administrator can also proactively assign Tabular Editor 3 licenses to a machine by specifying the LicenseKey and User values under each user's SOFTWARE\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3 registry key. See Silent installation and license pre-provisioning for the full deployment procedure.
Changing a license key through the registry
The Change license key option in Help > About Tabular Editor removes the LicenseKey, User, ActivationKey and Activation values and deactivates the installation on the licensing service. The option appears only when no model is loaded and the license is activated or its seat reservation has expired. If it isn't shown, for example because activation failed, reset the license through the Registry Editor:
- Close all instances of Tabular Editor 3.
- Open the Registry Editor in Windows (Start > Run > regedit.exe).
- Locate
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3(see screenshot above). - Delete the
LicenseKey,User,ActivationKeyandActivationvalues. LeaveInstallationDatein place. - Close the Registry Editor and restart Tabular Editor 3.
Alternatively, run the following commands in a Windows Command Prompt (Start > Run > cmd.exe). A command reports an error if its value doesn't exist, and the remaining commands still run:
REG DELETE "HKCU\Software\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3" /v LicenseKey /f
REG DELETE "HKCU\Software\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3" /v User /f
REG DELETE "HKCU\Software\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3" /v ActivationKey /f
REG DELETE "HKCU\Software\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3" /v Activation /f
The next time you launch Tabular Editor 3, you're prompted for a license key.
Note
Deleting the registry values doesn't deactivate the installation, use the Tabular Editor Self-service portal to manage your activated licenses.
Silent installation and license pre-provisioning
You can deploy Tabular Editor silently and pre-provision the license through the Windows Registry. Install first, then write the license, which has to be in place before the application is launched for the first time.
Install silently
No UI, no reboot:
msiexec /i TabularEditor.<version>.x64.Net10.msi /qn /norestart /l*v C:\Temp\TE3_install.log
| MSI feature | Shown in the installer as | Description | Installed by default |
|---|---|---|---|
MainFeature |
Tabular Editor 3 | Core Tabular Editor 3 application | Yes (required) |
AIAssistant |
AI features | The AI Assistant and the MCP server | Yes, from 3.27.0. Earlier versions install it only when it's selected |
Important
From 3.27.0, a new installation includes the AI features component unless you exclude it. If your organization doesn't allow the AI Assistant or the MCP server, exclude the component and set the DisableAi policy as described below.
Deploying without the AI features
Leave AIAssistant out of ADDLOCAL to install Tabular Editor 3 without the AI features:
msiexec /i TabularEditor.<version>.x64.Net10.msi /qn /norestart ADDLOCAL=MainFeature /l*v C:\Temp\TE3_install.log
Run the package with REMOVE to remove the component from machines that already have it:
msiexec /i TabularEditor.<version>.x64.Net10.msi /qn /norestart REMOVE=AIAssistant /l*v C:\Temp\TE3_install.log
Without the component, the AI assemblies aren't in the installation folder, the AI Assistant pane and the MCP server are absent from the application and no requests go to a model provider. Other features are unaffected.
To change the selection on a single machine, run the installer again and select Modify in the maintenance dialog.
Note
When using ADDLOCAL, list MainFeature alongside any optional features. Specifying only AIAssistant without MainFeature results in an incomplete installation.
Upgrades and the AI features component
When you install a newer version of the same package over an existing installation, the installer keeps the feature selection the machine already has. This applies to interactive and silent installations. A machine deployed without the AI features before 3.27.0 stays without them after the upgrade, and a machine where the AI features were selected keeps them.
In these cases the installer applies the default selection or the selection on the command line:
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
The command line sets ADDLOCAL, REMOVE or another feature property |
The command line sets the selection. ADDLOCAL=MainFeature removes the AI features from machines that have them, and ADDLOCAL=ALL installs them on machines that don't |
| The deployment uninstalls the earlier version before it installs the new one, for example an Intune supersedence set to uninstall | The installation is new and includes the AI features unless the command line excludes them |
| The package targets a different runtime than the installed one, for example the .NET 10 package on a machine with the .NET 8 package | The .NET 8 and .NET 10 packages are separate products. The installation is new and includes the AI features unless the command line excludes them |
The DisableAi policy overrides the selection in every case.
Enforcing the decision with the DisableAi policy
A user who runs the installer gets the default selection, which includes the AI features. Set the DisableAi Policies to 1 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Tabular Editor ApS\TE3 to keep the AI features off every installation on the machine. Tabular Editor 3 reads the policy at startup and turns off the AI Assistant and the MCP server.
From 3.27.0 the installer reads the policy as well:
- a new installation leaves out the AI features component, and the installer doesn't show it
- an upgrade removes the component from a machine that has it
- an existing installation keeps the AI files until the next upgrade. Tabular Editor 3 doesn't load them while the policy is set
A deployment tool that runs as the local system account doesn't read the HKEY_CURRENT_USER policies of the machine's users. Set the policy under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for the installer to read it in a silent deployment.
Package names and other MSI options
You can also use /package instead of /i. Replace <version> with the actual version string.
MSI packages are named TabularEditor.<version>.<architecture>.<runtime>.msi, for example TabularEditor.3.27.0.x64.Net10.msi or TabularEditor.3.27.0.ARM64.Net8.msi. Pick the architecture and runtime that suit the target machines; see System requirements. The MSI does not install the .NET Desktop Runtime, so deploy that first.
For details on available MSI command-line options, see the official Microsoft documentation: Microsoft Standard Installer command-line options - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn
Pre-provision the license
Write the license to the Registry before the first launch of the application:
REM Per-user license key (HKCU)
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3" /v LicenseKey /t REG_SZ /d YOUR-25-CHAR-KEY /f
If you are using an Enterprise Edition license key, also set the licensed user's e-mail:
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Kapacity\Tabular Editor 3" /v User /t REG_SZ /d user@example.com /f
Notes
- The installer does not accept a license parameter; licensing is handled via the Registry entries above.
- Keys are stored under HKCU (per-user). Ensure the commands run in the context of the target user (for example via a logon script) so the values are written to the correct profile.
- For additional keys and values, see Registry details.