Tipwinns Avalonia License Manager Controls

Tipwinns, Inc

A comprehensive licence assembly to be used for all Tipwinns products specifically designed for .Net 8 Avalonia - Cross-platform support for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Copyright 2024-2025 Tipwinns, Inc.
Usage of this libary can only be granted by Tipwinns, Inc with written consent.

Description

This assembly contains public controls that can be used in any Avalonia application to manage the licensing of Tipwinns products. The assembly is built using Avalonia 11.2 UI framework and is designed to be used in any cross-platform Avalonia application. The assembly is built using .NET 8.0 and is compatible with any Avalonia application that targets 8.0 or later, running on Windows, Linux, or macOS.

Quick start

Installation

dotnet add package twLMControls.Avalonia

Usage in XAML

<Window xmlns:lm="clr-namespace:twLMControls.Avalonia.Views;assembly=twLMControls.Avalonia">
  <lm:LMPortalView/>
</Window>

Configure Dependency Injection

// In App.axaml.cs or your startup code
services.AddSingleton<ITWLicManager, TWLicManager>();
services.AddSingleton<IPortalViewModel, PortalViewModel>();
services.AddSingleton<CurrentLicenseViewModelFactory>();

// Set DIServiceProvider for views
DIServiceProvider.Instance = serviceProvider;

UI Controls

LMPortalView

Main license management portal with:

• Trial license activation
• License key activation
• License deactivation
• Current license status display
• Store and portal navigation links

CurrentLicenseView

Detailed license information display showing:

• License type, status, and validity
• Product information
• Activation counts and limits
• Grace period information
• File location with explorer button

Dependencies

• Avalonia 11.2.2+
• CommunityToolkit.Mvvm 8.4.0+
• LicenseSpring.NetSDK (via twLM core library)
• Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions 8.0.2+

Cross-Platform Support

This library supports:

• Windows - Full functionality
• Linux - Full functionality
• macOS - Full functionality

All UI controls are designed to work identically across all platforms.

Objectives

While this license manager is a full feature library, we are only going to be using it for obtaining trial licenses.

We want to use this library because it does a good job locking down a machine that once we have issued a trial. Customers can uninstall/reinstall the application, but they will not be able to get another trial license on that machine unless we reset the license from the cloud.

Use Case #1: New Clean Installation - Obtain a trial license for a new clean installation of the application.

Users will be able to download the application and install it on their machine. When they run the application for the first time, they will be prompted to enter a license key. The license key will be validated against the LicenseSpring server and if the key is valid, a trial license will be issued to the user. The user will be able to use the application for the trial period. Once the trial period has expired, the user will be prompted to purchase a license to continue using the application.

Use Case #2: Tipwinns Aided License Reset for an Expired Trial - Reset a license on a machine so that the user can obtain a new trial license on the same machine or extend their current license period.

The license manager will lock down a given machine on activation of a trial license. If the trial period has expired, the user will not be able to obtain a new trial license on the same machine. The user will have to contact Tipwinns support to request an extension for the license on the machine. Once the license is reset, the user can obtain a new trial license or the license should extend the trial license already on the same machine.

Architecture

This library uses the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern with:

• ViewModels: IPortalViewModel, ICurrentLicenseViewModel (from twLM core library)
• Views: Avalonia XAML views with data binding
• Commands: CommunityToolkit.Mvvm IRelayCommand for user interactions
• Converters: Custom value converters for bool-to-visibility and color coding

All business logic resides in the platform-agnostic twLM core library, making the UI views lightweight and testable.

🏗️ Project Structure

twLMControls.Avalonia/
├── Views/
│   ├── LMPortalView.axaml          - Main license portal view
│   ├── LMPortalView.axaml.cs       - Code-behind with event handlers
│   ├── CurrentLicenseView.axaml    - License details display
│   └── CurrentLicenseView.axaml.cs - Code-behind
├── Converters/
│   ├── BoolToVisibilityConverter.cs - Bool → Visibility conversion
│   └── BoolToColorConverter.cs      - Bool → Color conversion (IsValid, IsTrial)
├── Behaviors/
│   └── (Future: RegEx validation behavior)
└── twLMControls.Avalonia.csproj

✅ Completed Features

LMPortalView

✅ All data bindings to IPortalViewModel
✅ Command bindings (GetTrialLicense, ActivateWithKey, DeactivateLicense)
✅ Conditional visibility (valid vs invalid license states)
✅ Event handling (navigation, dialog prompts)
✅ Tooltip bindings
✅ Custom styling (trial button, hyperlinks, deactivate button)

CurrentLicenseView

✅ All 25+ property bindings to ICurrentLicenseViewModel
✅ Read-only text fields in grid layout
✅ Color-coded fields (IsValid = Green, IsTrial = Cyan)
✅ File explorer command binding
✅ Responsive scrollable layout

Converters

✅ BoolToVisibilityConverter - Standard visibility binding
✅ InverseBoolToVisibilityConverter - Inverted visibility
✅ IsValidColorConverter - Green background/foreground when valid
✅ IsTrialColorConverter - Cyan background/foreground when trial

🔧 TODO Items

High Priority

• Implement Avalonia MessageBox for PromptForDeleteLicenseEvent
• Create RegEx validation behavior for license key input
• Replace emoji placeholders with proper Avalonia icons/SVG
• Add proper error validation display (DataValidationErrors)

Medium Priority

• Improve layout responsiveness for different screen sizes
• Add loading indicators for async operations
• Implement proper theming (Light/Dark mode support)
• Add animations for state transitions

Low Priority

• Create custom license key input control with auto-formatting
• Add accessibility features (keyboard navigation, screen reader support)
• Optimize performance for large license lists (if applicable)

🎨 Design Decisions

Layout Strategy

• WinForms: DevExpress LayoutControl with groups
• Avalonia: StackPanel with Border groups (simpler, more maintainable)

Styling Approach

• Inline styles in XAML for component-specific styling
• Fluent theme as base
• Custom button classes: .trial-button, .hyperlink, .deactivate-button

Color Coding

• Uses IValueConverter instead of direct property binding
• Supports both Background and Foreground color changes
• Transparent fallback when condition is false

🔗 Dependencies

NuGet Packages

• Avalonia (11.2.2) - Core framework
• Avalonia.Themes.Fluent (11.2.2) - Modern UI theme
• Avalonia.Fonts.Inter (11.2.2) - Typography
• CommunityToolkit.Mvvm (8.4.0) - Shared MVVM framework
• Microsoft.Extensions.Logging (8.0.2) - Logging abstraction
• Serilog (4.1.0) - Logging implementation

Project References

• twLM - Core library with ViewModels and business logic

🚀 Integration Guide

1. Add to Solution

dotnet sln twlicense.sln add twLMControls.Avalonia/twLMControls.Avalonia.csproj

2. Reference in Avalonia App

<ProjectReference Include="..\twLMControls.Avalonia\twLMControls.Avalonia.csproj" />

3. Use in Avalonia Window

<Window xmlns:views="clr-namespace:twLMControls.Avalonia.Views;assembly=twLMControls.Avalonia">
  <views:LMPortalView/>
</Window>

4. Ensure DI Container is Configured

The views expect DIServiceProvider.Instance to provide:

• IPortalViewModel
• ITWLicManager
• ILogger<LMPortalView>
• CurrentLicenseViewModelFactory

📝 Known Issues

Dialog Prompts

PromptForDeleteLicenseEvent currently returns a default value (TWDialogResult.No).

Solution Needed:

// Option 1: Use Avalonia.MessageBox.Avalonia NuGet package
var result = await MessageBoxManager.GetMessageBoxStandard(
    title, message, ButtonEnum.YesNo).ShowAsync();

// Option 2: Create custom dialog window
var dialog = new ConfirmationDialog(message, title);
var result = await dialog.ShowDialog<TWDialogResult>(parentWindow);

License Key Validation

RegEx mask [A-Z0-9]{4}-[A-Z0-9]{4}-[A-Z0-9]{4}-[A-Z0-9]{4} needs implementation.

Solution Needed: Create an Avalonia Behavior:

public class LicenseKeyMaskBehavior : Behavior<TextBox>
{
    // Apply RegEx validation on TextChanged
    // Format input with dashes automatically
}

Icons/Images

Emoji placeholders (📋, 🛒, 🔗, 🔓, 📁) need replacement with proper icons.

Recommended Solutions:

• Use Avalonia.Svg for vector graphics
• Use Avalonia.Icons.Fluent NuGet package
• Convert DevExpress SVG to Avalonia PathGeometry

🧪 Testing Strategy

Next Steps

1. Create twLMControls.Avalonia.Tests project
2. Add Avalonia.Headless.XUnit or Avalonia.Headless.NUnit
3. Write binding validation tests
4. Test command execution
5. Test visibility state transitions

Example Test:

[AvaloniaFact]
public void LMPortalView_InvalidLicense_ShowsActivationControls()
{
    var view = new LMPortalView();
    var viewModel = new Mock<IPortalViewModel>();
    viewModel.Setup(x => x.InvalidLicenseViewVisibility).Returns(true);
    view.DataContext = viewModel.Object;
    
    var trialButton = view.FindControl<Button>("sbGetTrialLicense");
    trialButton.IsVisible.Should().BeTrue();
}

📚 Reference Documentation

• WinForms Extraction: docs/WINFORMS_UI_EXTRACTION.md
• Avalonia Docs: https://docs.avaloniaui.net/
• CommunityToolkit.Mvvm: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/communitytoolkit/mvvm/

🤝 Contributing

When making changes:

1. Update XAML bindings if ViewModel interface changes
2. Test both light and dark themes
3. Ensure cross-platform compatibility (Windows, Linux, macOS)
4. Add XML documentation to code-behind
5. Update this README with new TODO items or completions

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Created: October 21, 2025
Status: Initial implementation - Ready for testing and refinement