Another nail in the dongle coffin. You’d be surprised how many questions like this we get.
“I have a laptop computer with a docking station with one COMPort on the back. I have a USB mouse and the keyboard is built in obviously. Now, my new Logic software came with a “key” or “dongle” that I have to plug in between my keyboard connection or between my mouse and it’s connection or something like that. I’m a little confused.”
The dongle, as we call it, acts like a key. Just like you need your key to start your car you need your key to run your program. This is done for copy protection reasons. It allows the manufacturer to put the full “unprotected” versions of their programs on line without having to worry about unauthorized use. Of course there are other ways of accomplishing this, but the dongle has been among the easiest for the manufacturers to implement.
In order for the program to run on your computer the dongle must be present and recognized. This starts with plugging it into your computer. The first question is what type of connection is on the dongle? Some are set up to plug into serial ports, while some newer ones are configured for USB ports. Since there is no practical way for you to connect it between your keyboard and the computer you will have to connect it between the USB mouse (if it’s a USB dongle) and the computer, or attach it to one of the other ports. It’s possible you don’t have a dongle that can be used with the available ports on your computer. In that case you should contact the place where you purchased the software and make arrangements to get the correct version (assuming there is one).