← Back to Attestation Core Changelog

Licensing & Updates

This page explains how Dantian Attestation Core and Attestation Core Pro receive updates, how the Pro licence key works, and the notices the plugins show in the WordPress admin. It’s written for the site administrator who looks after plugins and the Pro subscription.

In short: the free plugin needs no key and updates through WordPress’s normal Dashboard → Updates screen. Pro needs a licence key, entered once on Attestation Core → Settings → Licence. The key is re-checked daily, and there is a 7-day grace period if it stops being valid.

Both plugins are currently at version 1.0.0, their first public release.

Free plugin updates

Where the free plugin comes from

There are two copies of the free plugin. Both are the same plugin with the same features and the same data, but they update differently:

Copy	Where you get it	How it updates
Store copy	Direct download from the Dantian Health store (studio.dantianhealth.com.au)	Checks the Dantian Health store for new versions
WordPress.org copy	The WordPress.org plugin directory. The plugin has been submitted and is awaiting review, so it isn’t listed yet	Updates through WordPress.org like any directory plugin. It contains no store updater and never contacts the Dantian Health store

How updates appear (store copy)

You don’t need to do anything to turn updates on. The store copy plugs into WordPress’s own update check:

When WordPress checks for plugin updates (on its own schedule, and whenever you open Dashboard → Updates or the Plugins screen), the plugin asks the Dantian Health store for the latest version.
If a newer version exists, it appears in Dashboard → Updates and on the Plugins screen with the usual update now link. You can view the release details from the plugin row.
Click Update Now (or use WordPress’s auto-update setting for the plugin) and WordPress downloads and installs it like any other plugin update.

The store’s answer is cached for 3 hours, so a release published a moment ago may take up to three hours to appear.

After an update, the plugin upgrades its database tables automatically on the next page load. You don’t need to deactivate and reactivate it, and your records, settings and uploaded files are untouched.

What is sent to the update server, and when

The store copy contacts the store only as part of an update check. Each check sends:

the plugin’s current version number
your site’s URL
your WordPress version and PHP version
the free product’s built-in update key. This is the same for every copy of the free plugin, and it only allows downloads of the free plugin

No personal data and no compliance data is sent: no staff names, documents, evidence or settings. The store copy’s readme states the same thing in its Privacy section. The WordPress.org copy makes no contact with the store at all, and the free plugin’s only other network request is a same-site security self-test of your private documents folder.

Troubleshooting free updates

“Automatic update is unavailable for this plugin.” The store returned version information without a download, usually because of a cached response from an older build. Wait for the 3-hour cache to expire, or download the latest zip from the store and upload it with Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin → Replace current with uploaded.
No updates ever appear. Your host may block outgoing connections. Ask them to allow HTTPS requests to studio.dantianhealth.com.au, or update manually from the store.

🔒 Pro feature — requires the Pro plugin.

Pro licence key

Where to enter it

Go to Attestation Core → Settings → Licence. This tab exists only while Pro is active, and sits after Storage.
Paste the key from your purchase confirmation into Pro Licence Key.
Click Activate Licence.

Only full site administrators can activate or deactivate the licence. Other users who can see Settings get “You do not have permission to manage the licence.”

Validation

When you click Activate Licence, the key is sent securely (always over HTTPS) to the Dantian Health store, together with your site URL, the Pro version number, and your WordPress and PHP versions. The store activates it for this site.

Success: “Licence activated. Pro features are unlocked.” The tab then shows Status: Active, the Licence key (masked, with only the first and last four characters visible), your Plan and the Expires date. A licence with no expiry shows “Never (lifetime)”.
Rejected: “Activation did not succeed — the store reported the licence as “…”. Please check the key and try again.” The quoted word is the store’s status, such as invalid or disabled.
Empty field: “Please enter a licence key.”
Connection or store error: the store’s own error message is shown.

To move the licence to another site, click Deactivate Licence. This releases the activation at the store (if the store can be reached) and always removes the key from this site, with the message “Licence deactivated on this site.”

The daily licence check

A scheduled task re-checks your licence with the store once a day. The first check runs about an hour after Pro starts. Each check sends the licence key, this site’s activation reference, the product ID, the Pro version number and your site URL.

If the store says the licence is valid, nothing changes and any grace period is cleared.
If the store says it is anything else (expired, disabled, invalid, or no key entered), the 7-day grace period starts, counted from that check.
If the store can’t be reached, the check is skipped and your current status stays as it was. A temporary outage never switches Pro off.

When the licence is invalid or expired

During the 7-day grace period Pro features keep working. Site administrators see a yellow notice on every admin screen except Settings: “Your Attestation Core Pro licence is not active. Pro features remain available for N more days, then they will be disabled.” It includes a Manage licence link. The Licence tab shows the days remaining.

After the grace period Pro features switch off until the licence is activated again:

The notice turns red: “Your Attestation Core Pro licence is not active and Pro features are now disabled. Activate your licence to restore them.”
Pro admin pages such as Plans, Departments, Staff, Upskilling Plans, Calendar, Qualifications, RTO Milestones and Validation Panels are removed from the menu, and the Pro portal pages aren’t offered in the wizard.
Pro portal shortcodes are hidden. On pages using [attestation_core_submit_plan], [attestation_core_my_record], [attestation_core_my_calendar] or [attestation_core_my_upskilling_plan], staff and visitors see nothing where the shortcode was, never a raw shortcode tag. Administrators see a box reading “Attestation Core Pro — licence inactive” with a Manage licence button. The message explains that the content is hidden until the licence is activated or renewed.
Your data is kept. Plans, departments, webhooks and other Pro records stay in the database and reappear as soon as the licence is valid again.
The free plugin carries on normally.

A Pro install with no key entered follows the same path: Pro features work until the first daily check, then the 7-day grace period runs, then they switch off.

Pro plugin updates

Pro updates come from the Dantian Health store using your activated licence key, and appear in Dashboard → Updates like the free plugin’s. The Licence tab notes that activating your licence lets you “receive automatic updates”. The updater keeps running even while the licence is lapsed, so once you reactivate you can install any fixes straight away. Pro is never offered updates from WordPress.org.

Troubleshooting the licence

“Licensing is unavailable. Please reinstall Attestation Core Pro.” Pro’s licensing files are missing or damaged. Download a fresh copy from the store and reinstall it.
Activated on staging, now the live site says inactive. A licence activation belongs to one site URL. Deactivate it on the old site, or activate the key on the new one if your plan allows more sites.
The notice says Pro is disabled but I just renewed. Open Settings → Licence and click Activate Licence again. That re-checks the key straight away instead of waiting for the next daily check.

Upgrade notices

Free: security update notice

The free plugin can show a one-time upgrade notice to site administrators after an update that changes something they should check. The notice included in this release is headed “Attestation Core 2.1.0 — Security update applied”. It advises sites with department coordinator users to verify their department assignments.

Fresh installs never see it. The first activation marks it as already shown, because it only applies to sites upgrading from an older build.
Only site administrators (the WordPress manage options permission) see it.
Dismissing it is site-wide. Clicking the × hides it for every administrator, permanently.

Free: “Finish setting up” notice

Until the setup wizard is completed, users who can manage settings see “Finish setting up Attestation Core” on the plugin’s screens and the Plugins screen, with Finish setup and Dismiss buttons. Dismissing hides it for your account only. Completing the wizard removes it for everyone. See Plugin Settings & Onboarding Wizard.

🔒 Pro feature — requires the Pro plugin.

Pro: welcome notice

Right after you activate Pro, users who can activate plugins see a green “Attestation Core Pro is active!” notice. It lists highlights with links: Departments & coordinator access, Custom Branding, Compliance escalations, Scheduled reports, Bulk trainer import, and the self-service portal shortcodes. It also has an Enter licence key button that opens the Licence tab. The notice appears once: the first time an eligible user loads an admin page within an hour of activation. You can close it with the ×.

Pro: licence reminder

The yellow or red licence notice described under Pro licence key can’t be dismissed. It stays on admin screens (except Settings) for site administrators until the licence is active.

Worked example

An RTO with Pro on an annual licence. The renewal payment fails in March. The next daily check marks the licence as expired, and the compliance manager sees a yellow notice saying Pro will stay available for 7 more days. On day 5 the finance team renews. The manager opens Settings → Licence, clicks Activate Licence, sees “Licence activated. Pro features are unlocked.”, and the notice disappears. Trainers using the Annual Plan page never noticed anything. If renewal had slipped past day 7, the Annual Plan page would have shown trainers nothing until reactivation, and all submitted plans would still be there afterwards.

Was this helpful?