Software
Signing in and licences
LoDi-Aura signs in to the portal with your Lokstore account and fetches your licence from there. After this step, the licence is on the layout computer and everything it unlocks is ready to use.
Do you need a licence?
Setting up LoDi devices and driving by hand works without a licence – with as many LoDi devices as you like. For the track plan, driving to a destination and automation you need a licence. There are three tiers: Basic, Standard and Professional. Each higher tier contains everything from the lower one, and the highest tier you have always applies.
| Tier | What you can do with it |
|---|---|
| Without a licence | Set up and run any number of LoDi devices, drive locos with the hand throttle (“✋ Manual”), CV programming, read mfx decoders, multiple windows and tablets, users and permissions, colour schemes. You can view an existing track plan, but not drive with it. |
| Basic | Draw the track plan and use it in operation: blocks, train tracking, turntable and transfer table by hand, lights by model time. Send a train to a destination – with “🚦 Interlocking” and “🔄 Auto”, including shunting, zigzag runs and a station as the destination. Plus calibration, the online loco database, online backup and importing vehicles. |
| Standard | Everything from Basic, plus: the dry run, the departure arrow (LoDi-Aura finds the destinations itself, including moving up in the staging yard), the timetable and simple sequences, writing mfx decoders and the calibration run. |
| Professional | Everything from Standard, plus: the exact simulation, complex sequences (Latch, Delay, Step chain, Edge, Pulse, “Distance travelled”, “One after another”, the actuators “Speed step” and “Drive distance”) and all third-party command stations. |
There are also two add-ons:
| Add-on | What for |
|---|---|
| Command station licence | For a third-party command station: Märklin® CS2/CS3, ESU ECoS, Roco/Fleischmann Z21 or XpressNet (Lenz). It only works together with Basic or Standard – on its own it unlocks nothing. Professional includes all command stations. |
| Pionier | Together with Professional, “System” › “Update” offers new versions of LoDi-Aura even before their general release. |
The tiers and their prices are listed on the LoDi-Aura page.
What you need
- A Lokstore account with a confirmed email address.
- The layout computer is connected to the internet – only for signing in and fetching the licence.
Step by step
Signing in
- Open the pageOpen “System” › “Lokstore account & license”.
- Sign inIn the “Sign-in” card, click “Sign in”. LoDi-Aura creates a short code and opens the confirmation page of the customer portal in your web browser.
- Confirm in the portalSign in to the customer portal with your Lokstore account and confirm the code. It is valid for ten minutes.
- Back to LoDi-AuraAs soon as you have confirmed, LoDi-Aura signs in by itself. You don't need to do anything else.
While signing in is in progress, the card shows the address of the confirmation page and the code. If the portal didn't open by itself, open the address by hand – on another device too, such as your phone. “Cancel” stops the sign-in.
The person icon on the right of the header starts the same thing. If the layout is signed in, clicking it signs it out again after asking you to confirm.
Fetching the licence
Right after signing in, LoDi-Aura fetches your account's licences onto the computer by itself. The “Licenses” card shows them with their end date. If you buy another licence later, press “Fetch all” there. As long as the layout isn't signed in, the fetch buttons are grey; only “Import file …” always works.
| Button | When |
|---|---|
| “Fetch all” | The usual case: fetches every valid licence of your account onto this computer. |
| “Fetch online” | Fourteen days of grace, not tied to any device. For a computer that is online now and then: simply fetch again when time runs short. |
| “Fetch bound” | Valid until the licence ends, but only runs on this computer. For layouts that stay offline after setup. |
| “Import file …” | A licence file you downloaded from the portal. The computer doesn't need a network connection for this. |
“Active licenses” shows which licences apply on this computer. Below that, “What is unlocked” shows your tier and, sorted by Basic, Standard and Professional, every function you can use with it, marked with a tick.
Activating a trial licence
Not bought a licence yet? If your account has no LoDi-Aura licence yet and none applies on this computer, a box with “Activate trial license” appears under “Active licenses”. It tells you how long the trial lasts and which tier it unlocks. You can request the trial licence only once per account; it applies immediately and then simply expires.
If you come across a locked function in operation – such as a 🔒 on “🚦 Interlocking” or “🔄 Auto” without Basic – clicking it takes you straight to this page.
Problems?
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| “Your Lokstore account is not confirmed yet …” | Open the link in the confirmation email and then try again. |
| “No license is assigned to this account for Aura.” | Your licence isn't in your account yet, e.g. for a pre-order before sales start. Until then, the trial licence helps. |
| “The login is no longer valid — please sign in again.” | The sign-in expires if it hasn't been used for a while. Sign in again with “Sign in”. |
| The code has expired. | A code is valid for ten minutes. Press “Sign in” again. |