IMAGINiT Technologies Support Blog

Autodesk Permissions: What folders need full permissions for each user?

For the Autodesk products, the programs are looking for access to a few specific areas. It is our best practice to allow users full permissions, but where this can't be done, Autodesk software will need full read/write access to:

Registry Entries:

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER>SOFTWARE>AUTODESK
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>AUTODESK

Folders:

Win7/Win8.1/10:

• C:\Program Files\Autodesk
• C:\ProgramData\Autodesk
• C:\Users\<the current user>\AppData\Local\Autodesk
• C:\Users\<the current user>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk
• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared
• C:\Program Files(x86)\Autodesk
• C:\Program Files(x86)\Autodesk\Common Files\Autodesk Shared

 

 

Autodesk Server: Creating a firewall exception for Autodesk ports and .exe

If you have followed the instructions for installing and setting up the Autodesk Network License Manager On your server but the user machines still cannot grab a license file. Here is a blog written by Jeff Lotan covering "How can I tell if a port needed by flexlm is open or not?"

If you are still having issues you will want to create an exception on the servers firewall for first inbound.

On the server, go to your Start Menu > Control Panel > click on System and Security or Window Firewall.  If you clicked on System and Security you would then click on the Green Windows Firewall.

Then you will click on the link on the left side of the dialog box that says "Advanced settings".  Inside the "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security" dialog box you will need to create Inbound and Outbound rules for the Autodesk ports and for the LMTools software.

NOTE: You can first set up the Inbound exceptions then if your users are still not able to obtain a license you can do the outbound.

 

Inbound and Outbound rules for the Autodesk LMTools software

 You will start by clicking on Inbound Rules to start > then on the right side click on New Rule….

You will first create a "Rule Type" I am starting with the Ports so I click on the button for Port and then click the Next button.

On the "Protocol and Ports" screen leave it set to TCP and Specific local ports. Type 2080, 27000-27009 and click the Next button.

On the "Action" screen click on "Allow the connection" then click the Next button.

On the "Profile" screen Leave all the Profiles checked for the rules apply to and click the Next button.

Next you will name your rule; you can give it any name you want I typically call it Autodesk inbound rule for Ports once you give it a name and an optional description click the Finish button.

You will now do the exact same thing but for the "Outbound rule's for the ports.  Make sure you give the rule name the word “outbound” so you or anyone else seeing this will understand what it is.

Inbound and Outbound rules for the Autodesk LMTools software

You will start by clicking on Inbound Rules to start > then on the right side click on New Rule….

Instead of click on Port for the Rule type click on Program and then click the Next button.

 

On the "Program" screen you will then click on "This program path:" and click on the browse button.  You will be making a new rule for each of the four .exe files located in the C:\Program Files\Autodesk Network License Manager.   The four files are adskflex.exe, lmgrd.exe, lmtools.exe and lmutil.exe.

Remember you will make four different inbound rules for these programs and four outbound rules for them as well.

Select on the first one which will be adskflex.exe, the order in which you create your rules for these programs doesn’t matter just as long as each one of these gets an inbound and outbound rule.

After you click the Next button you will now be on the "Action" screen.  You will select "Allow the connection" and click the Next button.

For the Profile keep all the profiles checked and click the Next button.

Now give your rule a name.  Always indicate if it's an inbound or outbound with a rule name.  Example; adskflex.exe inbound rule. When you have named your rule click the Finish button. You will then create another inbound rule for the next .exe.

 

IMAGINiT Offices will be Closed for Good Friday on March 25th.

 

IMAGINiT Offices will be Closed for Good Friday on March 25th.  We will return to normal business hours on Monday March 28th, 2016.

 

We hope you have a great Good Friday and weekend.

Here's an update on AutoCAD .dwg file formats by release.

Recently a customer contacted us to ask how to tell with what AutoCAD version a received DXF file was saved. In recent versions of AutoCAD, the command line history will list the version when a DWG is opened, but not for DXF files.

Historically a DWG can be opened in Notepad to show the AutoCAD version coded with the first six characters of the file like this:

For DXF files, the version code is still listed among the file header information as viewed in a text editor like this:

 

The problem that arose with the recent case was that there were no indications of the coded version number in a DXF received from another source. That DXF would also not open in AutoCAD. It did, however open in a third party application that was able to save to DWG.

So then, the answer to the question, how can you tell the DWG version a drawing was saved with and what AutoCAD releases save to that version is detailed in WikiPedia. 

From that article here is a listing of the most recent versions:

DWG 2000 AC1015 AutoCAD 2000, AutoCAD 2000i, AutoCAD 2002 
DWG 2004 AC1018 AutoCAD 2004, AutoCAD 2005, AutoCAD 2006 
DWG 2007 AC1021 AutoCAD 2007, AutoCAD 2008, AutoCAD 2009 
DWG 2010 AC1024 AutoCAD 2010, AutoCAD 2011, AutoCAD 2012 
DWG 2013 AC1027 AutoCAD 2013, AutoCAD 2014, AutoCAD 2015, AutoCAD 2016, AutoCAD 2017
DWG 2018 AC1032 AutoCAD 2018, AutoCAD 2019, AutoCAD 2020, AutoCAD 2021

Notice that the DWG format has been changing after every three releases of AutoCAD. As Autodesk's development team plans to introduce new features and variables, they have chosen not to change the file format any more often than three releases.

Also notice that AutoCAD 2016, that was expected to update the DWG format, has kept the 2013 DWG file format instead. The same applies to AutoCAD 2017.

So the new features are planned to coincide with the DWG format changes. Significant changes may therefore need to wait for the drawing database to include new fields to support the new features.

FAQ: Autodesk Licensing Options with IMAGINiT

Subscription. Maintenance. Perpetual license. Standalone license. Networked license.

On December 2 we hosted a webcast on Autodesk Licensing Options. In this webcast IMAGINiT explained these terms and provided an overview of Autodesk Licensing options. At the end of the presentation we held a Q & A session and here are some of the most asked questions are attached.

Download the full list of most asked questions here.  Download Subs-webcast-qa-blog

 

Here are a few questions we answered:

Q: ­What do you mean by perpetual license?  Even if you have a license we still have to upgrade every year by paying a fee?

    A: ­Perpetual license is "permanent" that was the previous model by Autodesk products.  You must maintain the subscription maintenance program to keep the upgrades.  If you do not have your software on maintenance subscription then it will be kept on the last current ver­sion.

Q: ­What are the multi-year terms that Desktop Subscription offer? ­

    A: 1, 2 or 3 year terms.

Q: Our Company works on projects that run for several years. Will Autodesk maintain older version of their software products? ­

    A: ­Yes, Autodesk will keep the prior version use in place as it has today­.

Q: Will we be able to transfer seats easily from one person to another when someone leaves? ­

    A: ­Yes, your contract manager or software coordinator will need to log into your accounts.autodesk.com site and change the asset to the new user­.

Why buy or upgrade to Network Maintenance (perpetual licenses)?

Networking makes the Autodesk assets you have more valuable.

If your organization is using an environment where every individual is running their software as standalone licenses, now is the time to consider switching to a networked license approach to maximize efficiency and reduce costs. 

The power/benefits of Network Maintenance licenses:

Save money:

You can buy 1 seat and float it between multiple installs over purchasing standalone seats for all machines. This works particularly well with companies that have users go out of the office. One client I talked with said that they only use about 15 licenses regularly as they typically have 5 users out in the field not utilizing the network licenses. Whereas if it's standalone seats you still have to purchase those 5 additional seats which would not be in use when the users are out in the field. Big savings!

Compliance benefits:

If your license manager is compliant then you essentially cannot violate the service and license agreement. You still have to uninstall the older software, but if the license manager does not give you access to the older software you cannot run it. That is not the case with the current Standalone models.  It is very easy to violate the licensing with standalones, install your 1 seat of AutoCAD 2013 on one machine, since you're on subscription you get the 2014 release and install and activate it on another machine. Now you have 1 violation! Networking, if all the licenses are in use, you are denied a license and you cannot violate it if you have the license manager setup correctly.  That can be a HUGE Savings!!

View users:

Network licensing also allows you to view who has a license. With the flexlm license manager you can quickly view what licenses are in use. Run LMTools, click Perform Status Enquiry and view the list.

Give users Licensing Priority:

Network licensing also allows you to give priority to those power users that must have a license at any given time. You do this by Reserving licenses in an Options file on the license manager. Now those particular users always have access to those licenses you specify.

What if someone runs the Autodesk program and hogs the license then leaves for a 2 hr meeting and lunch? You can use a TIMEOUT or TIMEOUTALL setting in the options file to reclaim that license for someone else to use! SWEET! Will they lose their work? No. Once the license hog comes back to
their desk and moves the mouse they either immediately obtain another license (if one is available) OR the program prompts them to save their work!

Perpetual licenses are being phased out!  

On Maintenance subscription with a perpetual license, you can continue to run the last version you owned even if you let the subscription lapse. However, with Desktop Subscription (Rental or TERM once your Subscription term ends you no longer have access to the programs.

When you purchase new seats after Jan 31, 2016 you can only get the Rental (Desktop subscription) for the individual programs. The new Term/Rental licenses have a lot more overhead to setup and use. One person will have to login to the Autodesk website and enter each and every Term/Rental user and assign the software to them each year. These typically take longer to setup and get operational, it can also take a few days to get things into the Autodesk systems to get the program installed and running on the desktop/client machine. See the Autodesk KB article:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/search-result/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Quick-Start-Guide-Setting-up-your-Autodesk-Desktop-Rental-Software.html

This eBook takes you through the entire process for rentals:
http://download.autodesk.com/us/subscription/ADK-15015_Subscription_eBook_final.pdf

* TIME ALERT
For new Subscription customers, your new Autodesk Account will also be automatically processed as part of your order so you will need to be a bit more patient. You should receive a second email “Get Started” (see Step 2) within 12-24 hours. This email will contain your User ID and temporary password.

For current customers, there can be a slight processing delay between your Subscription order and when the benefits appear in your Autodesk Account.

Important purchasing information:

Purchase of new perpetual (network or standalone) licenses on Autodesk individual products will end on January 31, 2016.  Purchase of new perpetual (network or standalone) licenses for Autodesk suites on July 31, 2016. 

 

Now is the time to purchase, upgrade or cross-grade to the Network Maintenance (perpetual) licenses to help you retain those perpetual licenses!

IMAGINiT has your back!  Contact your local Sales representative to switch to Network perpetual licenses or purchase new ones now!

 

How to clean out your temp folder

How to clean out your temp folder:

From your keyboard click the windows key + the R Key.

This opens the Run dialog box

Type %temp% and click the OK button

This takes you to the C:\Users\user profile folder\AppData\Local\Temp folder.

Select all the files and folders inside the temp folder. You can do this by clicking the Ctrl key + the A key to select all. 

With all of the files and folders selected click on the Delete key from your keyboard. You will get a dialog box that asks if you want to delete everything click OK.

If you get a dialog box that says the action cannot be completed check the check box for "Do this for all current items" and click the OK button.

Desktop Subscription Activation Issues: Software doesn't launch after serial number is entered

After you install your Autodesk software and put in your serial number and hit activate your software doesn't launch and no error pops up you also get an email from Autodesk letting you know it's been activated. 

Do the following to resolve this:

Install the Autodesk Licensing hotfix

From within Control Panel:

1. Set your User Account Control Setting (UAC) to never notify. Here is a link to how to turn off the UAC: Microsoft User Account Control Setting.
2. Go to Internet Options > Security tab > and click on Trusted Sites. Click on the Sites button and add the Autodesk website http://www.autodesk.com. Try to open the software again.
3. Go to Internet Options > Security tab > click on Internet and set this to medium. 
4. Go to Internet Options > click on the Privacy tab> uncheck "Turn on Pop-up Blocker"

Reboot your machine and try to open your Autodesk software to activate.

Desktop Subscription Activation Issues: inaccurate time on the system clock

Error when trying to activate your Autodesk rental software and you get one or both of these errors:

• This error can be caused by an inaccurate time on the system clock, or by temporary system unavailability. Please check the system clock and try again.
• Establish an internet connection to continue. 

Initially you may get an error that says "Establish an internet connection to continue." Follow my blog on how to fix this: Desktop subscription activation issues: Establish an internet connection to continue.

Connection error:

This error can be caused by an inaccurate time on the system clock, or by temporary system unavailability. Please check the system clock and try again.

To solve this issue do the following:

1. Follow Autodesks steps on this how to fix the time zone error.

If this doesn't work then you need to remove your software. Do the following:

Delete the Autodesk folders located on all these places:

• C:\Program Files\Autodesk\delete your software(s) folder.
• C:\Users\your user name/profile\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\
• C:\Users\your user name/profile\AppData\Local\Autodesk\
• C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\

Delete as many files in Temp folder;

Verify that your temp folder has been cleaned out as best as possible.  To get to your temp folder do the following; Go to the start menu and type %temp% in the search folders and files and hit your enter key or open a Windows Explorer and in the path type %temp% and hit the enter key.  Select all the files inside the temp folder and hit your Delete key.  If you get a dialog box stating that something cannot be deleted click the Skip button.

Delete the Autodesk folder in the Registry:

Here is my blog on uninstall the Autodesk software.

Go to the start menu and type in REGEDIT the Registry editor will open.

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >Software > Autodesk (if you have other versions of the Autodesk software i.e. 2014, 2013, you will need to verify the correct string to delete. 

for example: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >Software > Autodesk>AutoCAD > check within the folders that follow for your software that needs to be deleted. To verify click on this string and in the window to the right you will see the version and name of the software.

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER >Software > Autodesk 
  • (if you have other versions of the Autodesk software i.e. 2014, 2013, you will need to verify the correct string to delete. 

  for example: HKEY_CURRENT_USER >Software > Autodesk>AutoCAD > check within the folders that follow for your software that needs to be deleted. To verify click on this string and in the window to the right you will see the version and name of the software.

Here are more blogs related to the time zone issue from Autodesk:

• Make sure your settings are correct for your time zone using Autodesk's about your account settings.
• Your IT might need to fix your BIOS if this error continues by following Autodesk's Inaccurate time on the system clock. 

 

How to obtain, install and get your Autodesk Rental software working.

 

Autodesk has a nice blog about how to get it all installed and assigned to a particular person.  They also include a warning that the person that purchased the software rental is the one that will be your contract manager.  The contract manager is the one that assigns the users to the software.  So this blog can be very helpful.

Click this link to get to the blog:
http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2014/11/quick-start-setting-up-your-autodesk-desktop-rental-software.html

One thing they do not specify is how to get help if needed.  There appears to be an option to assign users to be able to obtain support.  The contract manager may have the ability to assign support to others, while the users will not be able to assign anything to anyone.