AT Gateway FAQ & Troubleshooting

Setting up for the first time? Start with the AT Gateway User Guide. Don’t have it yet? Download AT Gateway (free).

General

What is AT Gateway?

A free OJS plugin that activates the licences of Altechmind’s premium plugins and installs their updates. You install it once per OJS site, and it manages all your Altechmind products.

Is it really free?

Yes. AT Gateway costs nothing and needs no account. You only pay for the premium products you buy.

Do I need it for free plugins like AT Journal Blocks?

No. Free Altechmind plugins work on their own, with or without AT Gateway. AT Gateway only lists them under Free from Altechmind with a link to their store page.

Which OJS versions are supported?

OJS 3.5 (PHP 8.2 or later).

One AT Gateway for several journals?

Yes. Install it once per OJS installation; it covers every journal on that installation.

Can it affect my journal’s pages, citations or indexing?

No. AT Gateway adds nothing to reader-facing pages and doesn’t read or change submissions, issues, users or metadata. Google Scholar tags, DOIs, OAI-PMH, feeds and sitemaps stay exactly the same.

Will it slow my site?

No. Licence checks during a page load are local, with no network call. The daily check runs in the background; running OJS’s scheduler from cron keeps it off visitors’ requests entirely.

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Licences & Seats

Where is my licence key?

In the store under My Account › Licenses. Paste it into AT Gateway under Licence key and click Save & activate.

What is a seat?

One journal (for per journal licences) or one site address (for per site licences) using the product. A 3-journal licence covers 3 journals. Licence details shows how many are used, e.g. “2 of 3 journals used”.

How do I move a licence to another journal or site?

Another journal on the same site: open Licence details, click Release seat for the old journal, then switch the product on in the new journal. Another site: click Remove key (this releases all its seats), then add the key in AT Gateway on the new site.

What happens when my updates period ends?

Premium licences are a one-time purchase, so the product keeps working. Updates until shows the date until which new versions and support are included. After it, AT Gateway shows “Version … is available, but your updates period has ended. Renew to download it.” Renew in the store to get later versions.

What happens if AT Gateway is disabled or removed?

Premium products switch to their free version until AT Gateway is back. Your journal, its content and indexing are not affected.

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Data & Security

What does AT Gateway send to Altechmind?

Only what licensing needs: the licence key, the product, the journal or site address the seat is for, and the AT Gateway, OJS and PHP versions. Nothing about articles, authors, readers, users or payments. For free plugins, nothing at all.

Is my licence key safe?

Yes. It is stored encrypted, only its last 4 characters are ever shown, and the Email support button never includes it. Only site administrators can use AT Gateway’s screen.

Are updates safe?

Every update must carry Altechmind’s digital signature, and AT Gateway checks it before installing anything. The current version is backed up first and restored automatically if anything fails. Updates are only installed when an administrator clicks.

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Troubleshooting

My product doesn’t appear in AT Gateway

Check that the product is installed under Plugins and that your AT Gateway is up to date. Payment plugins such as AT Payment Connect need AT Gateway 1.0.8.0 or later. Then click Check now.

The card says “Ready”

The product isn’t switched on in any journal yet. Switch it on in the journal under Settings › Website › Plugins; the licence then activates automatically.

“All seats of this licence are in use”

Every seat is taken. Release a seat you no longer need (Licence details › Release seat) or upgrade your licence in the store.

“Licensed, but not on every journal”

Some journals that switched the product on aren’t covered. Click Activate for them if you have free seats, or release a seat you no longer need.

“Licensed (store temporarily unreachable)” or “Paused: store not reachable”

Your server couldn’t reach store.altechmind.com. Everything keeps working for 7 days after the last successful check, then premium features pause. Ask your hosting provider to allow outgoing HTTPS to store.altechmind.com, then click Check now.

“Please enter the licence key again”

The saved key can no longer be read. This happens after moving the site without its files_dir, or after changing its security settings. Paste the key again and click Save & activate.

“No longer served by this installation (base URL changed?)”

The site address changed. Release the old seat in Licence details, then activate the new address.

“Licence not valid”

Check that you copied the whole key from My Account › Licenses, for the right product, and that the licence is active. If it still fails, contact support.

“Paused for your safety”

A licence check couldn’t be verified (for example, an answer that wasn’t signed by the store), so AT Gateway paused the premium features instead of trusting it. Your journal keeps working. Click Check now; if it stays, contact support.

“This server’s clock differs from the store by more than 5 minutes”

Licence answers are time-stamped, so the server’s clock must be right. Ask your host to enable NTP (automatic time sync).

“Scheduled tasks have not run for more than 2 days”

The OJS scheduler isn’t running, so the daily check happens only when you open AT Gateway’s screen. Ask your host to add a cron job running php lib/pkp/tools/scheduler.php run, or enable OJS’s web task runner.

“Server requirement not met: …”

A PHP extension AT Gateway needs is missing or disabled (for example curl). Ask your hosting provider to enable the one named in the message.

“This release has no Altechmind signature, so it cannot be installed from here”

AT Gateway installs only signed releases. Download the version from My Account › Downloads and upload it under Plugins › Upload a new plugin.

An update failed

Your previous version was restored automatically, so nothing is broken. Try again later. If it fails again, use the Email support button and include the last lines of the Audit log.

“AT Gateway could not load this screen.”

Nothing was changed. Fix any item marked ❌ in the panel (ask your hosting provider for missing PHP extensions), then reload. If everything is ✅, send a screenshot of the panel to support@altechmind.com.

I used the old AT Control Panel plugin

AT Gateway replaces it. When AT Gateway finds keys saved by AT Control Panel, click Import them into AT Gateway. The plain-text copies are then deleted. Once your keys show in AT Gateway, disable and delete AT Control Panel.

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Support

Use Email support on AT Gateway’s screen (it adds your site details, never your key), open a ticket from My Account › Support on the Altechmind Store, or email support@altechmind.com. Never send your licence key in full.