FreeCommander Forum

Hi,

Good day! Thanks for the new release 2026 940 32bit.

Just installed it yesterday and was surprised to see an evaluation alert as a free user. Is this an error?

Please check the license:

2. License Models

2.1 32-bit Version (Free Version)

For private users
Private individuals may download, install, and use the 32-bit version of the Program free of charge and without time limitation.
Distribution of the installation file is permitted, provided it remains unchanged and is accompanied by these license terms.

Thanks @Marek for the prompt reply. I didnot see this alert on previous versions. hence curious.

Will this alert disappear after 30 days, for a free user? I am assuming commercial users are morally obligated to buy a licence as there currently no logic in place to distinguish between a free and commercial user. Am I correct?

The message appears once; however, if you are working in a larger network, it appears every time you start a program.

Marek wrote: 28.12.2025, 18:22 The message appears once; however, if you are working in a larger network, it appears every time you start a program.

Oh! I am on a personal computer and am still getting this message everytime I start the program.

After confirming the message, try saving the settings.

Thanks @Marek. That did the trick.

Appreciate your help.

Hello @Marek,

thank you very for your help and for the tip.

However, in my case, saving the settings does not effect anything. What else could I do? Would you mind explaining which entry in the INI files takes care of that alert?

I have verified that there are no permission problems. I went into c:\Users\<my user name>\AppData\Local\FreecommanderXE and observed what happened to the INI files when I saved the settings. As expected, the timestamp of the respective INI files changed as well as their content. So I am sure that everything works correctly in general. But I still get that alert every time I start Freecommander XE.

What else could I do about it?

Best regards, and thanks in advance.

The message appears always when you are in business network.

Thank you very much for the explanation.

However, I don't know whether this is the right direction. For example, there are 3 PCs and two laptops in our private household, and there are 4 family members, each of them with an own non-administrative account on each of the devices. Each device also has one or two administrative accounts. This means that between 20 and 30 accounts (user profiles) must be managed.

Of course that's too much work for the family admin (= me). Therefore I have bought a used Windows Server 2019 for a few bucks, have made it a domain controller, and have joined every device to the domain. So we have business environment in our private household. And I know at least one other family whose private admin did the same in their private environment.

At least I now know why this alert pops up, and need to think about the situation. Thanks again, and happy new year!

Ah yes, i am indeed in the school network even if I am only using this personally.
Sad to be kicked out after all these years.

So long and thanks for all the fish,

Jan