If you’re having trouble importing serial numbers into LicenseKeeper for the apps you purchased through MacUpdate’s recent app bundle, then the file MU generated for you is probably improperly formatted.

You can easily fix the file by following these instructions:

1. Open the MU data file in TextEdit
2. Search for “Michael Simmons” using Command+F. You should find the text as the publisher for the app Fantastical.
3. Modify the text “Michael Simmons & Kent Sutherland” to read “Michael Simmons & Kent Sutherland”
4. Save and Close the data file
5. Import into LicenseKeeper as usual

The LicenseKeeper data file is a simple Mac OS X plist that needs to follow a specific XML format. The “&” is an illegal character and it needs to be HTML encoded so it doesn’t break XML parsing.

Update (Sept 12, 2011): MacUpdate has fixed the invalid encoding in the LicenseKeeper data file and newly downloaded files should now work as expected.

On the heels of the last release, LicenseKeeper 1.8.2 is now available and fixes Sync to iPhone (which was broken in 1.8) along with several crashes and minor user interaction problems.

Read the full Release Notes for details.

You can install this update using the menu item LicenseKeeper > Check for Updates… or download the newest version directly.

This is a free update for all LicenseKeeper owners. If you don’t own it yet, click here to buy LicenseKeeper, securely and instantly.

LicenseKeeper 1.8.1 fixes failing imports and database migrations started with version 1.8.

Read the full Release Notes for details.

You can install this update using the menu item LicenseKeeper > Check for Updates… or download the newest version directly.

This is a free update for all LicenseKeeper owners. If you don’t own it yet, click here to buy LicenseKeeper, securely and instantly.

LicenseKeeper 1.8 improves Lion compatibility with 64-bit and an updated user interface.

This update drops legacy support for Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4), Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5), Growl, Microsoft Entourage, and PowerMail.

Read the full Release Notes for details.

You can install this update using the menu item LicenseKeeper > Check for Updates… or download the newest version directly.

This is a free update for all LicenseKeeper owners. If you don’t own it yet, click here to buy LicenseKeeper, securely and instantly.

Because of this incredible adoption rate, I’ve decided to finally make the move to start dropping support for older OS X versions along with PowerPC (PPC) in our Mac apps with the next round of updates.

Tiger

Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger, was released over six years ago on April 29, 2005.

Except for Bullfrog, almost no-one is still using Tiger on a regular basis. Because it’s free, Bullfrog won’t hold up this move.

Leopard

Mac OS 10.5, Leopard, is now four years old and was released on October 26, 2007. More of our customers were already running Lion before it was even publicly released.

PPC

Apple stopped supporting PowerPC Macs with the release of Snow Leopard in August of 2009 — three years ago.

Schedule

The next set of updates for each or our applications will require at least Snow Leopard (10.6+) to run.

LicenseKeeper

I’m currently working on LicenseKeeper 1.8. I still have several open items to take care of which will then require a fair amount of testing. I’m hoping to have this update out in the next couple of weeks — sometime in August.

Knapsack

There is a lot planned for Knapsack over the course of this year. Knapsack 2.3 is scheduled to follow the LicenseKeeper update which will also require Snow Leopard (10.6+). Development on Knapsack 3 along with iPhone and iPad versions has already begun.

Bullfrog

Because Bullfrog is free, it takes a low priority for us and tends to sit on the back burner. I don’t have any specific releases scheduled, but I will no longer be updating Bullfrog for Tiger and Leopard. Any updates that do make their way out will require at least Snow Leopard and possibly only Lion.

Questions & Concerns

If you have questions or concerns regarding these changes and plans, please let me know.

The current versions of our apps will continue to run on your existing configurations and you will not be forced to upgrade to the newest versions.

Today, Apple unleashed the latest version of their Mac operating system, OS X Lion via the Mac App Store.

We’re Lion Compatible

The latest versions of all of our Mac apps are Lion (Mac OS X 10.7) compatible and should run without issue.

Knapsack 2.2.2

LicenseKeeper 1.7.2

Bullfrog 1.2.3

If you do happen to find any problems with our apps and Lion, please let us know so that we can get a quick fix out.

LicenseKeeper 1.7 has been released.

This free update brings full support for importing email from Microsoft Outlook ’11 for Mac.

You can read the full details in the Release Notes.

Use “Check for Updates” under the main LicenseKeeper menu or download it directly.

You can also follow @licensekeeper on Twitter to keep up on the latest news.

Year in Review

Knapsack Acquisition

In April, Outer Level announced the acquisition of Knapsack, the personal travel organizer for Mac.

The announcement came after weeks of negotiations followed by several more weeks of transitioning the code, online store, web site, and customer database. Add in all the time dealing with the legal paperwork for things like copyrights and trademarks and this was no quick short cut to adding an app to the product lineup.

New Online Store

The Knapsack acquisition forced my hand in that the original online store was only able to support the sales of one product. After much research, I settled on adopting the excellent open source Potion Store to run the Outer Level online store. The fact that Knapsack’s previous developer also used Potion Store made the decision and migration much easier.

With Potion Store up and running, not only could I now sell more than one item, I added the long requested Family Pack option where customers could get a discounted five user license to share with family members in their household.

Knapsack 2

As excited as I was to add Knapsack to the product lineup, I couldn’t wait to get my hands in the code and take this already cool app to the next level.

Knapsack needed new interactive maps. This release was all about replacing a neat but ultimately limited static world map with a fully interactive detailed online street map. The Knapsack 2 release was a success that brought some nice accolades.

LicenseKeeper for iPhone

Not to be left out, LicenseKeeper got a big upgrade this year too. October saw the release of its companion app LicenseKeeper for iPhone which gave users the capability to take their software license information with them on the go.

Sale Details

To celebrate the conclusion of a pretty good year and set things in motion for 2011, I’m offering a 20% discount on all apps sold through the Outer Level online store. Use the coupon code BYEBYE2010 when checking out to get your discount.

If you’re already a customer and have all that you need from us, please pass the coupon on to someone who could use it.

This sale runs through January 3, 2011.

Happy New Year!

LicenseKeeper 1.6.2 has been released.

This free update fixes a crash and a potential data loss bug during importing. I’ve also fixed an annoying bug where the main window would appear shifted off the top right of smaller displays.

You can read the full details in the Release Notes.

Use “Check for Updates” under the main LicenseKeeper menu or download it directly.

You can also follow @licensekeeper on Twitter to keep up on the latest news.

Introducing LicenseKeeper for iPhone.

LicenseKeeper for iPhone gives you the ability to access your software licenses on the go. The app syncs with LicenseKeeper for Mac and displays license keys, serial numbers, and registration information along with software titles, versions, icons, and more.

LicenseKeeper for iPhone also provides the option to set a personal passcode used to automatically lock the database when the user is finished viewing their data.

LicenseKeeper for iPhone syncs with LicenseKeeper 1.6+ and requires iOS 4.1 or later, and is compatible with iPod Touch.

LicenseKeeper for iPhone is free and available immediately from the App Store:

Follow @licensekeeper on Twitter to keep up on the latest news.