I’ve merged your separate post into this existing thread, Les. You definitely don’t need to wait a couple of days between purchase and use – but there are a couple of steps you need to follow. Please allow me to spell them out for you again here, and maybe you can save this post or take a copy of it so you can refer to it in future.
– Sign in to the Steinberg online shop.
– Purchase the required update.
– In the email receipt you receive from the shop, look for the Download Access Code (which may be labeled “activation code”).
– Copy that Download Access Code to the clipboard.
– Run Steinberg Download Assistant on your computer, and click Enter your Download Access Code at the top left-hand corner, then paste in the code. (Alternatively, you can enter your DAC directly into your account on our web site here.)
– Now run Steinberg Activation Manager on your computer, and click the “refresh” button in the top right-hand corner: you should see the license update (e.g. from Dorico Pro 4 to Dorico Pro 5).
Now you’re ready to run Dorico Pro 5 on your computer.
For what it’s worth, in the future it should be the case that buying the update (or indeed a new product) from our online shop should automatically add the appropriate license to your Steinberg ID account without needing to manually type in the Download Access Code. This requires that the Steinberg online shop be transitioned over to use the same Steinberg ID account as you use for e.g. this forum, and Steinberg Activation Manager, and so on. This project has been ongoing for a while, but eventually it will be complete and the accounts for the shop and for your licenses will be unified, which will eliminate at least some of the potential for confusion.