I use the offline version of Solar Accounts because part of the year I work on cruise ships and my laptop can be offline for weeks at a time (next year I will be on a ship for 10 consecutive weeks without any internet access for the laptop).

I notice that since I was last visiting these forums, you introduced an option for the "online" version to be "offline permanently". Can I check if I made the switch would I still be able to use Solar Accounts during those 10 weeks when I have no internet access for the computer? How frequently does the software need an internet connection to keep the license active? (for comparison my Adobe products will work for 99 days before I need to get the laptop back online to validate the license).

Hello Ian,

The 'offline mode' in Solar Accounts Online allows you to keep your data offline permanently, but you still must still have an internet connection to log in. You will be forced to log in whenever (a) you start the software; or (b) you have not shut down the software for 30 days.

In your case you will need to keep Solar Accounts running (ie. don't close the Solar Accounts window and use your computer's 'sleep' feature instead of shutting down) but even then you will need brief access to the internet every 30 days to log in - sorry.

Regards,

Thanks for the reply. The online version just would not work for me - I couldn't even work with the 'sleep mode' work-round. When I am at sea I'm public speaking and need to make sure the only programs running during a presentation are the ones I am using in the presentation. And for performance reasons I normally do a full reboot before each talk I give.

I'll continue with the off-line version. BTW is there any way of getting rid of that nag screen on start-up telling me about the online version?? I know about it!! I don't need to be told EVERY time I start the software - this is not shareware/nagwhere - it is a product that I have paid the license for!

Hi Ian,

I'm sorry we are unable to meet your requirements regarding offline access.

I have updated our system so that you should no longer receive the message about switching online. (This is computer-specific so you may see the message if you install Solar Accounts on a new computer).

Regards,

Thank you, Mark, for getting rid of the nag screen. Much appreciated.

Sorry if I sound grumpy in my posts about 'on-line' software, it's an on-going battle not just with Solar Accounts but other software suppliers, particularly certain US giants who just have no concept that there are people who don't have internet access 24/7/365 - I can't even use the latest version of MS Office for exactly the same reasons. - It needs to 'check-in' online every 30 days :-(