Use Code Protector Manually

It is possible to manually protect/license your application in a post build step using the Code Protector UI. This may be required in circumstances where integration of protection/licensing with the build process is not possible.

Prerequisites

You must first download and install both Code Protector and a valid Permutation file as per Install Code Protector and Permutation.

You must create a Code Protector Configuration file (.SLMCfg extension) as per Create a Code Protector Configuration File. This configuration file:

• Specifies the assemblies to be protected/licensed in your application.
• Controls how protection/licensing is applied to the selected assemblies in your application.

You must select the methods to be protected in your source code as per Select Methods to be protected or licensed in your application.

As manual code protection is applied as a post-build step, you must first build your application so that the assemblies to be protected are available to Code Protector in the relevant build output folders specified in the Code Protector configuration file.  (The default location for the protected/licensed assemblies is ..\Bin\Debug.Protected or \Bin.Release.Protected depending on the build configuration.)

Manual Code Protection

To use Code Protector manually:

1. Launch Code Protector.
2. Select  File → Open File option on main menu and load the Code Protector configuration file (.SLMCfg extension) for your application.
3. Click Protect button to start the protection process.
4. Monitor progress of the process in the Messages section.  Any errors encountered will be displayed here.
5. When the protection process is completed the protected assemblies, together with the required Runtime DLLs, are located in the output folder specified in the Code Protector configuration file.  The default location for the protected/licensed assemblies is ..\Bin\Debug.Protected or ..\Bin\Release.Protected depending on the build configuration.