In a manual activation, you enter the information you receive from Duxbury on the Activation Code page.
At the top of this page is a read-only field that displays the Reference Code for your computer. (As you may recall, the Reference Code is the "signature" that identifies your computer.) It is displayed only when the first step in manual activation has been completed. Its appearance tells you that all is well. If the Reference Code does not appear, then you are on this page by accident, or there has been an error and you need to start over.
From Duxbury, you receive three pieces of information that you use to activate your program. Depending on the choice you made, this information may arrive by email, phone, fax, or postal mail.
You receive two numeric codes and a version number.
Note: Do not try to "fix" the version number if it is higher than the installed version of your program. The version number you receive (or that is filled in for you by the wizard) indicates that your license can activate any version of the program up to the one displayed. Please, enter the version number as you received it. And if you are interested in getting the more recent version after activating, by all means, use "Check for Updates" from the program Help menu to get more information and a download. (You will not need to activate again under these circumstances.)
Of the two codes you receive, the long code is a string of 40 digits in groups of four. This is your activation code. The short code is your Confirmation Number, which insures that all three pieces of information you received are entered correctly. That is, it helps prevent entering a wrong digit accidentally when you put the activation code and version number in.
Again, be sure to enter the two codes and the version number exactly as they were given to you. It can be handy to use cut and paste to enter these codes when the information has been sent to you by email.