TechTips - How to Convert Your SharePoint 2007 License Type

I know what you might be thinking and that is why would I ever need to convert my license type? Well there are actually many different reasons why you might want to convert the license type. Maybe you were testing a trail version of SharePoint 2007 and want to upgrade to a licensed version, well this guide will show you how to do that. With SharePoint 2007 you don't have to reinstall the program from scratch and start all over, you simply can upgrade your license type and unlock the features you need or want. This guide will explain how to convert your license type and the different reasons you might want to do convert your license type.

The first most obvious reason to convert your SharePoint 2007 license type is going from a trial version of SharePoint 2007 to one of the licensed versions. This saves you a load of time since in the past you might have to uninstall the trial version of the product and then reinstall the updated version and apply your license key during the install. This is not the case with SharePoint 2007, you simply go to your Central admin page, enter the new License Key and then SharePoint 2007 will unlock any and all features that goes along with your license (these features will depend on the license you bought).

You might have also bought a license that you thought was going to give you the functionality you thought was included in the license and found that you in fact needed say an enterprise license as opposed to a standard license. With this convert license option in SharePoint 2007 you can quickly upgrade your SharePoint 2007 instance with little effort.

Another great example is one I wrote about previously, it's when you are trying to install SharePoint 2007 on a Windows Server 2008 box. You will get an error saying that the version isn't compatible, well a quick and easy fix is to download the SharePoint 2007 SP1 trial version and install it (works with no errors) and then upgrade it using the SharePoint 2007 license convert option in Central Administration.

Whatever the reason is for you needing to convert you license key the main goal of this article is to give you the instructions on how to get it done, all you have to do is follow these steps:

Open Central Administration webpage

Click Operations

Click Convert License Type (Upgrade and Migration Section)

Type in your Key

Click OK

The program will run for just a minute or two and then it should give you a message that says success. Then on the Convert license type page you should see the Current License update to the license key you entered. For mine it went from saying Office SharePoint Server Trial to saying Office SharePoint Server with Enterprise Client Access License.

That is all there is to the conversion process, simply enter the new key, click OK and it will convert it for you, now all of the new functions should be readily available to you (again only ones that go with your License type).

Well I hope this guide gives you some insight into why you might want to use the SharePoint 2007 convert license type tool and helps you to successfully upgrade your license to the one you truly need.