IronWord License Key in ASP.NET Configuration

ByChaknith Bin

March 19, 2024

Updated June 22, 2025

The problem has been resolved as of IronWord version 2024.3.5.

Exception: Unhandled exception. IronSoftware.Exceptions.LicensingException: IronWord must be licensed for development.

For older IronWord versions, specifically those released before version 2024.3.5, there is a known licensing issue in:

ASP.NET projects
.NET Framework version >= 4.6.2

The key stored in a Web.config file will NOT be picked up and used by the product.

Workaround

To address this issue, it is recommended to retrieve the license key from the Web.config file using ConfigurationManager in the code, and then apply it to the License.LicenseKey property.

Example:

<configuration>
  ...
  <appSettings>
    <add key="IronWord.LicenseKey" value="IRONWORD.MYLICENSE.KEY.1EF01"/>
  </appSettings>
  ...
</configuration>

<configuration>
  ...
  <appSettings>
    <add key="IronWord.LicenseKey" value="IRONWORD.MYLICENSE.KEY.1EF01"/>
  </appSettings>
  ...
</configuration>

XML

With the XML file provided above, we can use ConfigurationManager to retrieve the license key value and pass it to the IronWord.License.LicenseKey property.

// Import the necessary namespace for ConfigurationManager
using System.Configuration;

// Retrieve the license key from the AppSettings in Web.config
string licenseKey = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["IronWord.LicenseKey"];

// Set the license key for IronWord
IronWord.License.LicenseKey = licenseKey;

// Import the necessary namespace for ConfigurationManager
using System.Configuration;

// Retrieve the license key from the AppSettings in Web.config
string licenseKey = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["IronWord.LicenseKey"];

// Set the license key for IronWord
IronWord.License.LicenseKey = licenseKey;

' Import the necessary namespace for ConfigurationManager
Imports System.Configuration

' Retrieve the license key from the AppSettings in Web.config
Private licenseKey As String = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("IronWord.LicenseKey")

' Set the license key for IronWord
IronWord.License.LicenseKey = licenseKey

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Chaknith Bin

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Software Engineer

Chaknith works on IronXL and IronBarcode. He has deep expertise in C# and .NET, helping improve the software and support customers. His insights from user interactions contribute to better products, documentation, and overall experience.