This article explains how to locate, claim, and export product keys from https://my.visualstudio.com/productkeys. For more information about activating a product with a key, retail and volume license versions of keys, and daily product key claim limits, please visit the product keys overview.
Administrators and developers who need to detect if Visual Studio 2012 is installed on a machine can use similar keys as those used for past releases like Visual Studio 2010.In general, these detection keys are always found in the 32-bit registry hive with a pattern like.
You must be signed in to your Visual Studio subscription to view your product keys. Individual product keys are found by selecting the blue Get Key link for a particular product on the Downloads page as shown below. All keys are also available in aggregate on the Product Keys page. When multiple keys exist for a single product, notes will be displayed on the Notes column for the download to assist you in identifying which key should be used.
Some products bundle multiple editions of the product into a single download. In these cases, the product key entered determines which edition of the product is installed.Some keys are provided automatically, such as “static” keys, which you can use as many times as needed because activation is not required. Other keys must be claimed by selecting the Get Key link for the product.
A variety of key types are available, depending on the product.
| Key Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Not Applicable | No key is needed to install this product. |
| Retail | Retail keys allow multiple activations and are used for retail builds of the product. In many cases, 10 activations are allowed per key, though often more are allowed on the same machine. |
| Multiple Activation | A Multiple Activation Key (MAK) enables you to activate multiple installations of a product with the same key. MAKs are generally used with Volume Licensing versions of products. Typically, only one MAK key is provided per subscription. |
| Static Activation Key | Static activation keys are provided for products that do not require activation. They can be used for any number of installations. |
| Custom Key | Custom keys provide special actions or information to activate or install the product. |
| VA 1.0 | These are multiple activation keys, similar to a MAK. |
| OEM Key | These are Original Equipment Manufacturer keys that allow multiple activations. |
| DreamSpark Retail Key | These retail keys are for DreamSpark and allow one activation. DreamSpark Retail keys are issued in batches and are primarily intended for student consumption. |
| DreamSpark Lab Key | These lab use keys are for DreamSpark programs and allow multiple activations. DreamSpark Lab Keys are intended for use in university computer lab scenarios. |
| DreamSpark MAK Key | These are MAK keys for DreamSpark program customers. |
You can claim a key from the download page for the product, or you can search for the key you need on the Product Keys page.
Only subscribers with active subscriptions can download products and claim product keys. You can export your claimed keys from the Product Keys page while your subscription is active.
To claim a product key:
In this example, we’ve used the search bar to locate a product key for Visual Studio Enterprise 2019.As you can see, there are several versions listed. One key each has already been claimed for Visual Studio Enterprise 2019 versions 16.0 and 16.1. Additional keys of different types are still available for both versions. Notice that you can record a brief note about claimed keys in the Notes column. You can use this in conjunction with the date in the Claimed column to keep track of the keys you’ve claimed. You might, for example, make notes when you activate an installation of the product using the key.
You can export a list of all the keys you have claimed, along with a large selection of static and other keys that are automatically marked as “claimed” for you.
Important
If your subscription expires, you will no longer be able to claim new keys or export your claimed keys.
To export your keys, simply click on the Export all keys link at the far right of the Product Keys page. An .xml file entitled KeysExport.xml will be created, and you’ll have the option to open or save the file. You will need to open the file with an application capable of handling .xml files. For example, you can open the file as a read-only workbook in Excel.
When you're ready to download software and use keys, visit https://my.visualstudio.com/downloads. For more information about downloading software, please see the downloading overview.
-->If you want to publish an application by using ClickOnce deployment, the application and deployment manifests must be signed with a public/private key pair and signed using Authenticode technology. You can sign the manifests by using a certificate from the Windows certificate store or a key file.
For more information about ClickOnce deployment, see ClickOnce security and deployment.
Signing the ClickOnce manifests is optional for .exe-based applications. For more information, see the 'Generate unsigned manifests' section of this document.
For information about creating key files, see How to: Create a public-private key pair.
Note
Visual Studio supports only Personal Information Exchange (PFX) key files that have the .pfx extension. However, you can select other types of certificates from the current user's Windows certificate store by clicking Select from Store on the Signing page of project properties.
Go to the project properties window (right-click the project node in Solution Explorer and select Properties). On the Signing tab, select the Sign the ClickOnce manifests check box.
Click the Select from Store button.
The Select a Certificate dialog box appears and displays the contents of the Windows certificate store.
Tip
If you click Click here to view certificate properties, the Certificate Details dialog box appears. This dialog box includes detailed information about the certificate and additional options. Click Certificates to view additional help information.
Select the certificate that you want to use to sign the manifests.
Additionally, you can specify the address of a timestamp server in the Timestamp server URL text box. This is a server that provides a timestamp specifying when the manifest was signed.
On the Signing page, select the Sign the ClickOnce manifestshttps://caqhbg.over-blog.com/2020/10/songbird-software-music-player-mac.html. check box.
Click the Select from File button.
/free-download-wifi-password-key-generator-v3-0.html. The Select File dialog box appears.
In the Select File dialog box, browse to the location of the key file (.pfx) that you want to use, and then click Open.
Note
This option supports only files that have the .pfx extension. If you have a key file or certificate in another format, store it in the Windows certificate store and select the certificate is described in the previous procedure. The selected certificate's purpose should include code signing.
The Enter password to open file dialog box appears. (If the .pfx file is already stored in your Windows certificate store or is not password protected, you aren't prompted to enter a password.)
Enter the password to access the key file, and then select Enter.
Note
The .pfx file cannot include certificate chaining information. If it does, the following import error will occur: Cannot find the certificate and private key for decryption. To remove the certificate chaining information, you can use Certmgr.msc and disable the option to Include all certificates when exporting the *.pfx file.
On the Signing page, select the Sign the ClickOnce manifests check box.
To create a new certificate for testing, click the Create Test Certificate button.
In the Create Test Certificate dialog box, enter a password to help secure your test certificate.
Signing the ClickOnce manifests is optional for .exe-based applications. The following procedures show how to generate unsigned ClickOnce manifests.
Important
Unsigned manifests can simplify development and testing of your application. However, unsigned manifests introduce substantial security risks in a production environment. Only consider using unsigned manifests if your ClickOnce application runs on computers within an intranet that is completely isolated from the internet or other sources of malicious code.
By default, ClickOnce automatically generates signed manifests unless one or more files are specifically excluded from the generated hash. In other words, publishing the application results in signed manifests if all files are included in the hash, even when the Sign the ClickOnce manifests check box is cleared.
To generate unsigned manifests that include all files in the hash, you must first publish the application together with signed manifests. Therefore, first sign the ClickOnce manifests by following one of the previous procedures, and then publish the application.
On the Signing page, clear the Sign the ClickOnce manifests check box.
Reset the publish version so that only one version of your application is available. By default, Visual Studio automatically increments the revision number of the publish version every time that you publish an application. For more information, see How to: Set the ClickOnce publish version.
Publish the application.
On the Signing page, clear the Sign the ClickOnce manifests check box.
Open the Application Files dialog box and set the Hash to Exclude for the files that you want to exclude from the generated hash.
Note
Excluding a file from the hash configures ClickOnce to disable automatic signing of the manifests, so you do not need to first publish with signed manifests as shown in the previous procedure.
Publish the application.