Whether you're running advanced simulations in Ansys Mechanical or preparing your CAD models in Discovery or SpaceClaim, managing your software licenses efficiently is crucial to ensuring smooth, uninterrupted analysis workflows.
In this post, we’ll explore how licensing works in Ansys Workbench, including how to set license preferences, manage shared versus separate licenses, and configure settings in both Discovery and SpaceClaim. If you've ever found yourself wondering how to select a specific license or avoid conflicts with others on your team, you're in the right place.
When you install the Ansys Structures or Fluids product suite, Workbench automatically populates the Toolbox with available modules—based on the licenses accessible via your license server or your shared web license pool (assuming you're properly connected).
From here, you can drag any module (such as a Static Structural system, which we will use for this example) into the project workspace to begin your simulation setup.
To launch a module like Mechanical, Workbench checks out a license from your server or license pool. While this usually happens automatically, there are two methods you can use to control which license gets used:
Manual selection per individual module instance
Customizing the global license priority list
We'll walk through both.
To select a license for an individual module instance:
Open the "Properties" window by going to View --> Properties in Workbench.
Click on the “Model” cell in your module block.
In the Properties pane on the right, locate the "License" option.
By default, this will say “Use License Preference” (linked to your global license list). You can override this and manually pick a specific license from the dropdown. Only licenses valid for pre-processing will appear here. For example, a Mechanical Enterprise Solver license won’t show up at this stage.
Once you launch Mechanical, you can verify which license is active by checking the top-center of the interface.
If you'd rather adjust the default order of licenses used, you can set this up directly in Mechanical:
Open Mechanical.
Go to File --> Licensing
Use the arrows to reorder the license priorities. The system will attempt to use the first license in the list, and if it's unavailable, move down the list.
Click Save.
To use different licenses for preprocessing and solving (e.g., Mechanical Enterprise PrePost for setup and Mechanical Enterprise Solver for analysis), ensure both are at the top of your list. Restart Workbench and Mechanical for the changes to take effect.
Workbench offers two modes of license use across applications:
This mode allows you to:
Use one license per type (e.g., Mechanical Enterprise) across multiple applications. Using shared licensing, the active application holds the license, preventing other applications that are sharing that same license increment/key from using it during that time. For example, trying to do multiple solves of same type at the same time would be a concurrent event.
Progress through your workflow (engineering data → setup → solve → results) using a single license. The application holding the license must close or issue a PAUSE command or receive an automatic release request to release the license and allow another application to use it. Licenses cannot be released while an application is actively performing a concurrency event (for example, an application cannot release a license in the middle of a solve operation because the license cannot be released until the solve operation is completed).
When this is enabled:
Each application uses a separate license.
By using this method, you can move freely between the many applications that you might require during an analysis in Ansys Workbench if you have sufficient licenses. You can leave each application running and easily move between them at any point during the analysis, even if one of the applications is actively using the license (such as during a solve process). The disadvantage to this method is that you could potentially consume many licenses.
To enable this mode:
Go to Tools --> Options in Workbench.
Under Project Management, uncheck the “Share a single license between applications” option.
Restart Workbench.
Another license management method to discuss is for Ansys Discovery. If you are using Ansys Discovery or SpaceClaim to preprocess your CAD model, it is possible to use an Ansys Mechanical Enterprise license to do this. Generally, if there are Discovery licenses available in the license pool, it is not recommended to use the Mechanical Enterprise license for Discovery or SpaceClaim. Here, we will discuss how these options can be adjusted as well. It should be noted that these options for both SpaceClaim and Discovery will need to be set in the standalone versions of the tool, not through the Workbench project version. Once saved, these options will apply to all future instances of Discovery/SpaceClaim that are opened either in standalone or through Workbench.
Go to File --> Settings --> Advanced.
The option set for “Discovery License” will be the set preference when opening Discovery. The “Alternate License” is the secondary license that can be used if the primary license is not available.
This option can be toggled to “None” if you do not want a secondary license preference.
Navigate to File --> Settings --> Licensing.
Set your preferred Discovery license and alternate (if needed).
Note: Simulation capabilities in Ansys Discovery require either:
Discovery Premium/Enterprise license (2025), or
Discovery Simulation license (2024).
Using other licenses (e.g., Mechanical Enterprise, Discovery Modeling or Discovery Pro) only grant access to the CAD tools.
To set license preferences in SpaceClaim:
Go to File --> SpaceClaim Options --> License.
In SpaceClaim, to use a Discovery license, we want to check the option for “Check for SpaceClaim license prior to alternate license”. Choosing this option will prioritize the Discovery license over any alternate license setting we may have.
Set an alternate license (or leave as “None”) if desired.
These changes apply across both standalone and Workbench versions once saved.
Whether you're fine-tuning your license priorities, switching between shared and separate license modes, or managing licenses in Discovery and SpaceClaim, understanding your Ansys license environment can help you:
Avoid errors or delays when opening modules.
Reduce unnecessary license consumption.
Optimize team collaboration across shared license pools.
By customizing your setup, you’ll be able to use your available resources more efficiently—freeing up time for what really matters: engineering great solutions.