Please help me out here, I have a small PC screensaver created with CINEMA 4D, I want to add/link it to my website but I don’t know how to add/link an application program installer setup to a website.
I would want to set the screensaver on commercial that means client will have to buy it online, how do I make database to generate activation code for the client and send it to the client email address when the client pay for the product online, thank for assistance in advance.

If you already have an installer for the screensaver and would like to add a link to download it from your site, just upload the installer to your root directory (e.g. wwwroot), call it setup.exe for example, and add a link from your homepage (or wherever):

<a href="setup.exe">Download Screensaver</a>

When someone clicks the link, it will download the file setup.exe. If you do not have an installer, try something free like Inno Setup.

About the activation code, you can make your own system, or go with a licensing product that is already available (although this will cost you).
In general, the process would be:

  • Generate a random code when a user purchases (if you are using PayPal, this could be done through IPN)
  • Email user the code, and store it in the database along with a field 'activated' set initially to false.
  • In the installer, or on first opening the screensaver, have a window which requires the user to enter the code.
  • Check the entered code against the database - if there is an entry with the 'activated' field set to false, set the field to true and allow access, else, deny access.
  • Store a special parameter in the user's registry to record that they are allowed to use the application.

Hope that helps!

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