Matt-

It's because the software isn't registered properly.  I've encountered the same problem.  Here's the deal, although the Tableau Reader is free, they still want it registered and the FlexNet Licensing model is what's causing your issue.  Let me know if you were provided a "license" file with your reader.

if you haven't already, please use Menu > Help > Contact Support to get help for this issue.

Matt -

I am having the same problem - can you help - I've used Tableau for quite some time now.

Please contact Tableau Support by emailing support@tableausoftware.com or going main menus->Help menu->Contact Support if you still have this problem.

Can you tell me the Windows platform you are using? We won't support Windows 7 until our soon-to-be-released v5.1 product family, so perhaps this is the root of the problem. The specific error message you posted indicates that your Trusted Storage (the Flexera term for the repository of licenses) is corrupted. This may mean that another possible issue is with broader system corruption, for example if your machine restarted abruptly or uncleanly. You may wish to run a full disk check / repair (reboot required), which may help you recover from this problem.

Another piece of information may help diagnose the problem: Do you have a file named FNPLicensingService.exe under C:\Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher? If so, please respond with the product version number, e.g. 11.5.0.0.

Thanks,
Robert

Hi Matt,

We will need to work in collaboration with customer support to further diagnose this and run utilities which may correct the problem.  Please contact support@tableausoftware.com

-Robert

Hi Robert,

I'm having the same problem as Matt G.  i.e. running Windows XP Pro and getting an "unable to add license" when I try to run the Tableau reader.

MY OS is:  Windows XP PRo Service Pack 3

My FlexNet Publisher file version is:  11.7.0.0

I'll run a disk check, but can you tell me if there's a solution from your end?

Thanks,

ticker

Had the same problem

Here's a set of instructions for Windows XP Pro.

In two parts: part 1 may be enough.

PART 1

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Double click the FLEXnet folder to open it.

Click the file with filename ending .data.

Select Rename from the File menu, and add .old to the end of the filename (now .data.old)

Click the file with filename ending .data_backup.001

Select Rename from the File menu, and add .old to the end of the filename (now .data_backup.001.old)

Try relaunching Tableau

If that hasn't fixed it, you probably need to fix some file and folder permissions.

PART 2

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Choose Start > Control Panel.

Double-click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.

Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings section, and then deselect the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) option.

Click OK.

In an the Control Panel Explorer window, click the address bar, type %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data, and then press Enter.

Right-click the FLEXnet folder, and choose Properties.

A dialog box will open titled FLEXnet Properties.

At the bottom of the General tab in the Attributes section, deselect the Read-Only option.

Click Apply.

A dialog box opens up: Confirm Attribute Changes. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Click the Security tab.

Make certain that Administrators and System are listed.

It they are, skip to [Continue] below

If not, click Add, and the Select Users or Groups dialog box opens up.

In the text box, type Administrators or System, depending on which is missing.

Click Check Names. An underline will appear under the word you typed.

Click Ok.

[Continue]

In the FLEXnet Properties dialog box, select Administrators in the upper pane (Group or user names)

In the lower pane (Permissions), make certain that permissions for security are set to Full Control (ticks in the left hand Allow column in all rows, except Special Permissions at the bottom)

In the FLEXnet Properties dialog box, select SYSTEM in the upper pane (Group or user names)

In the lower pane (Permissions), make certain that permissions for security are set to Full Control (ticks in the left hand Allow column in all rows, except Special Permissions at the bottom)

Click Advanced.

Select the Replace Permission Entries On All Child Objects With Entries Shown Here That Apply To Child Objects option.

Click the Owner tab.

Select the Replace Owner On Subcontainers and Objects option.

Click OK, and then click Yes in the Security dialog box.

Click OK to close the FLEXnet Properties dialog box.

Try launching Tableau again.