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Switch Archicad from an Education License to a Commercial License

If Archicad continues to start in education mode after a commercial license becomes available, move the locally stored education license file so Archicad can detect the commercial license. This does not remove the education watermark from projects created or saved in education mode.

Before making any changes, close all running Archicad sessions. You can either move the local education license file or archive it for later use. If Archicad still starts in education mode, reinstall Archicad as a final troubleshooting step.

Move or archive the local education license

  1. Locate the educational.lic or education.lic file on your system.File location paths:
    • macOS:
      Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Archicad/AC_##_yyy*
    • Windows:
      C:\ProgramData\Archicad\AC_##_yyy*

      Note: On Windows, the ProgramData folder is hidden by default. You can display it using the steps described here: How to find hidden folders on mac OS & Windows.
  2. Either:
    • Compress (zip) the file to save it for later use, or
    • Relocate the file to another folder outside of its current folder and the Archicad application folder, for example, a folder in Documents.
  3. This allows you to restore the license later if needed.

    ## stands for the Archicad version number (e.g., 29), and yyy refers to the Archicad localization (e.g., USA, INT).

Reinstall Archicad

If you are not succeeding with the previous methods, you can reinstall Archicad by following these steps.

  1. Uninstall Archicad.
  2. Download the Archicad installer and the update installer from the Graphisoft website.
  3. Run the installer. (See Install Archicad)

Result after removing the local education license file

After the local education license file is moved or archived, restart Archicad. Archicad will then look for another available license. Ensure that a valid commercial license is assigned, connected, or otherwise available.

When a commercial project is opened with a commercial license, Archicad runs in commercial mode.

When an education project is opened with a commercial license, Archicad switches to education mode and the education watermark remains present.