license for older Quartus II

[Altera_Forum]

I am in the situation where I need to use Cyclone II and Cylone IV FPGA. I found the latest Quartus II version doesn't support Cyclone II. So what version can I use (12.0?) and can I get the license for this older version? or can I purchase the license of latest software and "downgrade" it to older version?  

Thanks Leon

[Altera_Forum]

--- Quote Start ---  I am in the situation where I need to use Cyclone II and Cylone IV FPGA. I found the latest Quartus II version doesn't support Cyclone II. So what version can I use (12.0?) and can I get the license for this older version? or can I purchase the license of latest software and "downgrade" it to older version?  Thanks Leon  --- Quote End ---    I use Quartus 13.0sp1 to support my use of the Cyclone II part. The free version works just fine, no license needed.  For Cyclone IV I happen to use Quartus 16.0 (again the free version) and the newer version 17.x still support this device family I believe.  You can download the above versions from the Altera software tools download pages.

[Altera_Forum]

However the unlicensed Quartus cannot generate the programming file (.sof), can it?

[Altera_Forum]

--- Quote Start ---  However the unlicensed Quartus cannot generate the programming file (.sof), can it?  --- Quote End ---    Yes it can. It would make no sense at all if it couldn't.  In my particular case I use the quartus_cpf tool to pack the generated .sof file into a .jic file so I can use the programmer to program the attached flash config device thru JTAG.

[Altera_Forum]

The free quartus tools only support the smaller cyclone parts. 

For larger parts (or stratix or arria) you will need a paid licence. But a licence should cover you for all quartus versions.