SSMPropEditor 4.3.1

SSMPropEditor 4.3.1 has no new features but some important bug fixes. Make sure to upgrade. It is free for existing customers and if you want to try SSMPropEditor contact us for a free trial to see how much time and work you can save as a Sheet Set Manager user.

• Fixed some issues that made right click open drawing and folder not working.
• Fixed a problem when sometimes AutoCAD shows that it does not find the sheet after making a change in SSMPropEditor.
• Fixed a problem with importing of txt file.
• Fixed a minor problem with recent sheet set list tooltip.

Contact us to get a time limited license file for free.

See also SSMPropEditor 4.3 released with the latest added features to SSMPropEditor.

Carbon-negative cement with AutoCAD Plant 3D

Novacem Uses Autodesk Design Software to Produce Zero-Carbon Cement, more carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed during the process than is emitted.

The cement is based on magnesium oxide (MgO) and hydrated magnesium carbonates.

FARNBOROUGH, UK, March 16, 2011 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, announced that Novacem, the carbon-negative cement company based in London, is using its AutoCAD Plant 3D software to optimize its plant design and production process, enabling it to develop a new magnesium silicate-based cement that will offer carbon-negative production.

Enabling start-ups like Novacem to better design products and processes, the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program provides powerful software for emerging clean tech companies in North America, Europe and Japan, all working to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The Clean Tech Partner Program offers Digital Prototyping software licenses to clean technology companies, helping them innovate more rapidly.

“Being able to develop the process using state of the art layout design tools allows Novacem to effectively and efficiently scale up the technology,” said Howard Simons, Novacem vice president of engineering. “This approach enabled us to explore different concepts by giving our design team more freedom to be creative, while pioneering new and innovative production techniques. This helps Novacem optimize the process design of its plant technology, as well as provide vital information associated with costing and visualizing the technology for investors. We value the opportunity to be part of the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program.”

Constructing Carbon-Neutral Cement with Novacem
Novacem developed a new generation of carbon-negative cement that will offer cost and performance parity with the most common type of cement, Portland cement. The cement is based on magnesium oxide produced from magnesium silicates and is a scalable, transformational alternative to current carbon-intensive cement production. Current technology creates an average of 800 kilograms of carbon dioxide per metric ton of cement. Novacem can go beyond eliminating all of these emissions and can achieve up to 50 kilograms net absorption of carbon dioxide per metric ton of cement.

To help increase production and improve efficiency in its pilot plant, Novacem is using AutoCAD Plant 3D software to digitally design and visualize the performance of the plant’s planned automated control systems under simulated real-world conditions, all before the systems are physically built and installed. AutoCAD Plant 3D brings modern 3D design to plant designers and engineers to help streamline the placement of piping, equipment and support structures, reduce complexity and enable them to evaluate designs quickly and easily.

“Novacem’s product and manufacturing process has positive environmental implications for materials used in construction around the world,” said Mark Strassman, vice president, construction and plant for Autodesk’s Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Solutions. “Autodesk is pleased to support companies like Novacem, a prime example of how software can help solve design and engineering challenges that address environmental problems, while decreasing time to market.”

About the Clean Tech Partner Program
The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program supports early-stage clean technology companies by providing design and engineering software that accelerates their development of solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Clean tech companies in North America, Europe and Japan that can benefit from Autodesk solutions for Digital Prototyping are invited to apply to receive up to $150,000* worth of software for only $50. Access to a collection of Autodesk software applications includes up to five licenses of
AutoCAD Inventor Professional Suite, Autodesk Showcase,
Autodesk Vault Professional, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Alias Design, Autodesk Algor Simulation and Autodesk Inventor Publisher software.
For additional information, visit www.autodesk.com/cleantech.

About Novacem
Novacem, the carbon negative cement company, is a spin-out from Imperial College London and has developed a new generation of carbon negative cement that will offer cost and performance parity with Portland cement. The cement is based on magnesium oxide produced from magnesium silicates, and is a scalable, transformational alternative to current carbon intensive cement production. In 2010 the company announced its Green Cement Bond with Lafarge, the world leader in building materials, as the first subscriber. Novacem is a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for 2011.

Novacem is currently working on a development programme to design construct and operate an Industrial Pilot Plant (up to 25,000 tonnes per year) to be co-located with an existing cement plant. It will work closely with Green Cement Bond subscribers and other industrial partners in this project and the first Commercial Volume Plants which will follow. Thereafter the technology will be rolled out to companies in and around the cement industry to ensure its full potential to reduce carbon emissions is realised.

The company raised a £1.1m Seed Round in 2009 from Imperial Innovations, the Royal Society Enterprise Fund and the London Technology Fund. It raised a further £1.6m in 2010 when Laing O’Rourke joined its investor group. It has also received financial and other support from the Technology Strategy Board, the Carbon Trust and industrial collaborators.

About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries — including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects — use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

*Value is based on up to five commercial licenses of each application.

Press Release

Autodesk Network License Manager for IPv4 and IPv6

Some useful info for CAD managers and others managing network licenses (FlexNet/FLEXlm) for Autodesk products and software ranging from version 2010 to 2012 of everything from AutoCAD to Inventor and Revit.

Included is:

• lmtools.exe version 11.9
• lmgrd.exe version 11.9
• lmutil.exe version 11.9
• adskflex.exe version 11.9.0.3

This is the same NLM.msi that comes on the installation media on for example AutoCAD 2012.

Autodesk IPv4 Network License Manager for Windows

From Knowledge base: DL16273699 including downloads

The Autodesk Network License Manager for IPv4 networks using Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 and 2003 R2, Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 and 2008 R2, Windows XP, Windows Vista®, and Windows 7.

To install the Autodesk Network License Manager

1. Double-click the nlm_ipv4Support_Win32.exe file on your desktop. This will extract the NLM.msi file to C:\install\Autodesk\NLMIPv4Support_Win32 and start the installer wizard.
2. If the installer wizard does not start automatically, locate the new NLM.msi file and double-click it to start the installer wizard. Follow instructions on the screen.
3. After installation is complete, click Close.

To start the Network License Server

You should be logged in with Administrator rights when working with the LMTOOLS utility.

1. Right-click the LMTOOLS icon on the desktop and click Run As Administrator.
2. Click the Config Services tab and provide all necessary information.
3. Click the Save Service button and then click the Start/Stop/Reread tab.
4. On the Start/Stop/Reread tab, click Start Server.
5. Close lmtools.exe.

Autodesk IPv6 Network License Manager for Windows

From Knowledge base: DL10976858 including downloads

The Autodesk Network License Manager for IPv6 networks using Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 and 2008 R2, Windows Vista®, and Windows 7.

This implementation supports mixed IPv4/IPv6 and IPv6-only environments. It does not support network license checkouts in an IPv4-only environment.

For license tracking,  license reporting and network license management see JTB FlexReport.

Free DWG to PDF conversion with AutoCAD WS

AutoCAD WS for Android is available for download from the Android Market.

From the press release:

AutoCAD WS for Android enables an expanded group of users to enjoy the benefits of effortless collaboration with architects, designers and engineers from anywhere in the world and experience the freedom of taking designs with them—wherever they go.

“Architects, engineers and designers have clearly communicated that they want access to their AutoCAD projects on their Android devices and we are more than happy to meet their needs. The impressive and consistent growth of the Android ecosystem serves as an excellent platform for Autodesk to further expand its accessibility through AutoCAD WS,” said Tal Weiss, AutoCAD WS software development manager, Autodesk. “Now our customers with Android smartphones and tablets can use AutoCAD WS to collaborate with colleagues in the field, and across the globe, on a wider variety of mobile devices.”

Users of AutoCAD WS for Android will enjoy features such as a simplified, intuitive set of viewing, editing, and markup tools so users can work on their designs while on the go. Users can open drawings from email attachments, sync files from the web, or upload drawings directly from AutoCAD software through the integrated online tab. Drawings can also be saved locally for use in the field when an Internet connection is unavailable.

One feature unique to Android version of AutoCAD WS is the text annotation tool supports integrated voice commands available on devices running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or above. Now Android users can insert comments and notations on a drawing simply by speaking rather than typing them into the text edit box.

Additional feature enhancements that are available with this release include:

• Anywhere Storage -- Now you can connect your AutoCAD WS web and mobile account to a variety of storage sites. Click on the following tutorials to learn how to connect to: Buzzsaw, Box.net, Dropbox (via DropDAV), MobileMe, Egnyte and even your own Fille server or SharePoint site.
• Plot-to-PDF/DWFx — You can now create PDF or DWFx files from your DWG files for plotting or sharing with others.
• PDF Support — You are now able to open markup and share a PDF in AutoCAD WS in the same way as a DWG file.

Here is a drawing opened in AutoCAD WS web version.

The enhanced Plot dialog box.

Plotted successfully.

With this result showing also that the PDF contains the layers.

AutoCAD 2012 and .NET Framework 4.0

.NET Framework 4.0 is required by applications like AutoCAD 2012, AutoCAD Architecture 2012, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012, AutoCAD LT 2012, AutoCAD Map 3D 2012, AutoCAD Mechanical 2012, Autodesk 3ds Max 2012, Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2012, Autodesk Inventor 2012

Autodesk’s Knowledge Base TS16436702 provides more details:

Problem

Many of the Autodesk 2012 products require the installation of Microsoft .NET 4.0. In many cases .NET 4.0 will automatically be installed by the Autodesk 2012 installer however there are system-specific conditions where .NET cannot be installed by the Autodesk installer and will need to be installed manually.

This typically happens on systems running Windows XP without certain Windows updates or Vista and Windows 7 systems that are not up-to-date. In cases where a manual installation of .NET 4.0 is required, you will see the following alert dialog when you click the Install button to begin the the installation process:

Clicking the Update button will automatically terminate your Autodesk product installer and begin the .NET 4.0 installation.

Solution

To ensure that the Autodesk product installation is not interrupted by .NET 4.0 installation requirements, we strongly recommend manually installing Microsoft .NET 4.0 before beginning installation of your Autodesk 2012 product.

Note: This is especially important for systems that will be receiving an Autodesk 2012 product via silent installation of a deployment. Deployments will not check for .NET 4.0 and will not install if .NET 4.0 is not present on the system.

Microsoft .NET 4.0 is available on the Autodesk 2012 product media in the following location:

\3rdParty\NET\4\wcu\dotNetFramework\dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe

If you do not have access to the original Autodesk 2012 product media, you can download the Microsoft .NET 4.0 installer at the following location (refer to the Microsoft-supplied readme and documentation for additional information and prerequisites):

Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (Web Installer)

After .NET 4.0 has been installed, you must reboot your computer. You should perform this step even if you are not prompted to reboot. After your system has restarted, you can begin the installation of your Autodesk 2012 product.

AutoCAD 2012 Command Line and Text Window

With AutoCAD 2012 there are some changes affecting the command line and text window.

The command history is by default distinguished from the active command line with a grey background color. In Options>Display>Colors>Drawing Windows Colors dialog box the Command history background, Command history text, Active prompt background and Active prompt text colors can be changed.

Vertical and horizontal scroll bars only appear when hovering on the right side or bottom right. I first though this was a bug, not sure it is such a good feature.

This may not add much to the reason why AutoCAD 2012 is better than previous releases but I think having another color on the history is a good thing.

FlexNet Options File documentation and tips

I got a support question by a JTB FlexReport customer yesterday and wanted to share the solution.

The user had a FlexNet options file adskflex.opt that looked like this:
GROUP DRAFTING UserA UserB UserC UserD
RESERVE 4 64300ACD_F GROUP DRAFTING

With 6 available licenses and the four users in the reserved group using a license each it should be possible for 2 other users to check out a license. But still when the fifth user try there is no licenses available.

JTB FlexReport’s HTML report was reporting 64300ACD_F: 6 licenses 4 in use.

Looking at the FlexNet status this information can be found.

Users of 64300ACD_F:  (Total of 6 licenses issued;  Total of 6 licenses in use)

  "64300ACD_F" v3.000, vendor: adskflex
  floating license

    UserA host1 host1 (v3.000) (server/27000 1514), start Wed 4/13 8:24
    USERB host2 host2 (v3.000) (server/27000 1409), start Wed 4/13 13:43
    UserC host3 host3 (v3.000) (server/27000 305), start Wed 4/13 14:07
    2 RESERVATIONs for GROUP DRAFTING (server/27000)
    userd host4 host4 (v3.000) (server/27000 2006), start Wed 4/13 14:11

This shows that all licenses are in use. Notice that two of the user login names does not match when it comes to case.

The solution is to add the row below to the options file:
GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON

If GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE is set to ON, user names and host names specified with the options file GROUP and HOST_GROUP keywords, respectively, are treated as case insensitive.

By default GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE is OFF; user names and host names are treated as case sensitive.

Open question here is if there is a need to in either JTB FlexReport HTML, list or chart reports see licenses that are reserved but not in use? Please let me know your thought by email or commenting on this post.

Autodesk’s Knowledge Base TS1055247 provides more details:

How to control network license access using an options file

Issue

You would like to know how to control network license access using an options file with the FLEXnet network license manager.

Solution

Note: This information applies to all network versions of Autodesk products.

Access to licenses is controlled with a FLEXnet® options file that is configured with the settings you want to use. The options file is an optional component of the FLEXnet license management system and is not required for normal license operation.

Creating the options file

1. Create a new text file named ADSKFLEX.OPT. It is strongly recommended that you only use a plain text editor, such as Notepad, for editing options files.
2. Place this file in the same directory as your Autodesk license file.
3. Perform a ReRead License File operation from the Start/Stop/ReRead tab in LMTOOLS.
4. Examine the debug log file to confirm that your options file changes have been implemented by the license manager.

Note: The examples in this document are intended to serve as samples only. Many options file commands, such as INCLUDE/EXCLUDE, are mutually exclusive. When you use these types of commands you should make sure that the syntax is correct.

Entering comments in the options file

All syntax following a number sign (#) will be ignored by the license manager.

An example of an options file comment is shown below.

#This is a comment

Defining groups

You can define groups using the Windows login name or the computer name. By default, computer names and user names are case sensitive unless the GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON statement has been added to the options file.

GROUP [groupname] [user1] [user2] [user3]

HOST_GROUP [groupname] [computername1] [computername2] [computername3]

The following example defines a group called EngineeringGroup for three users:

GROUP EngineeringGroup smithj jonesb whitef

The following example defines a group called DraftingDept with three computers:

HOST_GROUP DraftingDept computer1 computer2 computer3

Disabling case sensitivity for user and computer names

You can enable/disable case sensitivity for user names and computer names when using the GROUP or HOST_GROUP commands.

The following example disables case sensitivity for user and computer names:

GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON

The following example does not disable case sensitivity for user and computer names:

GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE OFF

Defining project association

Specific computers can be defined as part of a project by configuring an environment variable on those client machines. This project designation can then be used to control license access in the options file. The project environment variable is an optional component and is not required when you define groups directly in the options file.

To designate a computer as a member of a project

1. On the Start menu (Windows), click Settings > Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click System.
3. In the System properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
4. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.
5. Under System Variables, click New.
6. In the New System Variable dialog box, enter LM_PROJECT for the Variable name and the project name for the Variable value.
7. Click OK to close each dialog box.

Your project is now defined and you do not have to reboot the computer for these settings to take effect.

Reserving licenses

You can reserve a specific count of licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive).

RESERVE [count] [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples reserve either 1 or 5 AutoCAD® 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

RESERVE 1 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

RESERVE 1 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

RESERVE 1 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Restricting maximum license usage

You can limit usage of specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive).

MAX [count] [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples set a limit of either 1 or 5 AutoCAD 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

MAX 1 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

MAX 1 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

MAX 1 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Excluding license usage

You can block access to specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive). Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly excluded will continue to have access to these licenses.

EXCLUDE [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples block access to AutoCAD 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Including license usage

You can provide access to specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive). Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly included will not have access to the specified licenses. If you want to block license usage for only a few users you should consider using the EXCLUDE syntax.

INCLUDE [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples provide access to AutoCAD 2006 licenses for the specified type only:

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Setting license inactivity timeout

You can configure the license manager to automatically reclaim inactive licenses after a specified time. Inactivity is defined as an idle product with no commands issued in the specified time. Users will be given the option to save their current drawing if a license is revoked by the license manager for inactivity. Time is specified in seconds and the lowest acceptable value for these options is 900 seconds (15 minutes).

TIMEOUT [productfeature] [seconds]

TIMEOUTALL [seconds]

The following examples set inactivity timeouts of 30 minutes for AutoCAD 2006 and all respective products:

TIMEOUT 48800ACD_2006_0F 1800

TIMEOUTALL 1800

Report log creation

You can configure the creation of a report log (RL) file for use with the SAMreport™ or SAMreport™-lite usage reporting tools. For more information about configuring SAMReport-Lite, you should refer to the related documentation.

The plus sign (+) preceding the report log file path indicates that the license manager should append to the report log instead of overwriting it. Also, the path for the report log should not contain spaces and must already exist (the license manager will not create this location for you). The license manager will create the report log file.

REPORTLOG +<Path\ReportLog.rl>

The following example defines a report log file to be created in a specific location:

REPORTLOG +C:\Reports\MyServer.rl

Controlling license borrowing

Several options file commands control license borrowing for specified licenses.

Maintaining licenses

You can specify a number of specific licenses that cannot be borrowed.

BORROW_LOWWATER [productfeature] [count]

The following example blocks license borrowing for 5 AutoCAD 2006 licenses:

BORROW_LOWWATER 48800ACD_2006_0F 5

Setting the borrow period

You can specify the maximum duration of time that a specific license can be borrowed for in hours. This value cannot be above the maximum borrow period specified by Autodesk in the product license file.

MAX_BORROW_HOURS [productfeature] [hours]

The following example limits license borrowing of AutoCAD 2006 licenses to 3 days:

MAX_BORROW_HOURS 48800ACD_2006_0F 72

Excluding license borrowing

You can block the ability to borrow specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive). Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly excluded will continue to have the ability to borrow licenses.

EXCLUDE_BORROW [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples block borrowing of AutoCAD 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Including license borrowing

You can provide the ability to borrow specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive).

Note: Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly included will not have the ability to borrow the specified licenses. If you want to block license borrowing for only a few users, you should consider using the EXCLUDE_BORROW syntax above.

INCLUDE_BORROW [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples allow borrowing of AutoCAD 2006 licenses for the specified type only:

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Tips if AutoCAD’s cursor is slow or jerky

These tips from Autodesk’s Knowledge Base TS15127843 might be useful if you have this problem.

Issue

You experience that the cursor in AutoCAD®, AutoCAD® Map 3D® or AutoCAD® Civil 3D® is slow or jerky.

Solution

There may be many causes to this issue. Here are a few suggestions that may resolve the issue.

• If you have an active virus scan application, such as Bitdefender, running on your workstation, diabling or removing the virus scan application may help.
• If the issue occurs and appears to get worse through out the day, restarting you computer may help.
• Disabling Selection Cycling by typing SELECTIONCYLING at the command line and setting the value to 0 may help.
• If you are experiencing the issue on an HP, Dell or other band of laptop that has a biometric scanner, disabling the Digital Persona (or other fingerprint authentication software) service may help.
• If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, try turning off Aero themes and/or diabling the BitLocker feature.

There may be many other machine variables and configuration that may affect this type of issue. While this may not be a complete list of all of the services/features that may cause this issue, it includes many of them that have previously solved the issue for customers reporting it.

SSMPropEditor 4.3 released

Have you ever wondered how to edit Sheet Properties and Sheet Custom Properties on many sheets at the same time? It cannot be done in AutoCAD’s Sheet Set Manager (SSM) but JTB World’s SSMPropEditor can do it.

Here is what’s new in SSMPropEditor version 4.3:

• Added tooltip to recent sheet set list.
• It is now possible to add just a space for properties to avoid the dots showing in AutoCAD.
• Possible to add spaces at the beginning and end of Sheet Indexing prefixes or suffixes.
• German translation.
• Bugs fixed:
• The tree view expansion/collapse is not restored in certain cases.
• Sheets with .DWG in captial letters are incorrectly showing with an extra .dwg suffix.
• Renaming and repathing of the actual dwg files is not always working.
• Export is not working in some cases.
• Removed save dialog when unlocking or closing a sheet if no changes have been done.
• Some other minor issues.

Existing customers are entitled to this upgrade at no extra fee. Just install the new version. More about SSMPropEditor including downloads. Free trial available.

SSMPropEditor is compatible with the latest AutoCAD 2012 with its verticals as well as AutoCAD LT 2012. Congrats to AutoCAD LT 2012 users that now also have access to Sheet Set Manager.

More Sheet Set Manager resources:

• Slow Sheet Set Manager solution
• How to use unsupported characters in Sheet Set Manager
• Sheet Set Manager productivity tips on sheet indexing
• How to rename a Sheet Set dst file
• Sheet Set Manager performance tips
• Sheet Set Manager tutorial, tips and tricks
• Clear sticky Sheet Sets from Recent Documents List in AutoCAD
• Add a comma to the sheet title of a sheet in AutoCAD
• Performance tips when using SSM
• AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager properties shows '----' when you don't want to

System Requirements, licensing and performance for Autodesk Citrix Ready products

In the previous post I mentioned that AutoCAD 2012 and Revit 2012 are Citrix Ready.

KB document TS16785740 has this info:

System Requirements for Autodesk Citrix Ready products

Issue

You wish to know the system requirements for Autodesk products that can be used on Citrix XenApp.

Solution

Revit Architecture, MEP, and Structural 2012:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Citrix system with XenApp® 6.0, Citrix® License Manager, and Citrix® Profile Manager.
• Microsoft® Active Directory with support for roaming profiles.
• Dedicated Autodesk license server for session-specific licenses.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (or later).
• Client computers should be bound to the network domain. Each client computer should install either the full or web online client plug-in.
• Users should use their domain logins to access both the Citrix web console and the LAN.

AutoCAD 2012 and other Citrix Ready verticals:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2003.
• Citrix system with XenApp® 6.0 for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Citrix system with XenApp® 5.0 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
• Microsoft® Active Directory.
• Dedicated Autodesk license server for session-specific licenses.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (or later).
• Client computers should be bound to the network domain. Each client computer should install either the full or web online client plug-in.
• Users should use their domain logins to access both the Citrix web console and the LAN.

AutoCAD Map 3D and AutoCAD Map 3D Enterprise 2012:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2003.
• Citrix system with XenApp® 6.0 for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Citrix system with XenApp® 5.0 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
• Microsoft® Active Directory.
• Dedicated Autodesk license server for session-specific licenses.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (or later).
• Client computers should be bound to the network domain. Each client computer should install either the full or web online client plug-in.
• Users should use their domain logins to access both the Citrix web console and the LAN.

KB document TS16785782 has this info:

Licensing and license file format for Autodesk products on Citrix XenApp

Issue

You wish to know the requirements for licensing with Autodesk Citrix Ready versions of AutoCAD and Autodesk Revit.

Solution

Note: Using Autodesk Citrix Ready products requires the purchase of a special license. Contact your Autodesk Authorized Reseller to inquire about purchasing this license.

A separate network license server is required for Autodesk products on Citrix XenApp. The reasons for this are:

• The license is a session specific license. More detail for this will be discussed below.
• There is no special installer for the Citrix versions of Autodesk products. Therefore they use the same feature name in the licensing system.
• Licenses cannot be allowed to cascade.

You can identify a license file as session specific by reviewing the key words in the INCREMENT. Regular network license files contain the DUP_GROUP key word. Session specific licenses do not.

As an example this INCREMENT for AutoCAD Map 3D 2011 does not contain a DUP_GROUP key word. It is therefore a license for only the Citrix environment. Each license is checked out for each session.

INCREMENT 85557MAP_2011_0F adskflex 1.000 permanent 5 \
VENDOR_STRING=commercial:permanent SUPERSEDE ISSUED=09-Mar-2010 \
SN=399-99999999 SIGN="1A7D ABCD B4EC CA97 E4AD 0AF2 0D95 3399 \
B51C 18F7 BB46 9ACA C19A F63E D42D 1E39 28F6 94C3 84B0 23E8 \
E314 3D97 E77E8 3F68 58DE 8C79 C0C3 0EF8 23B5 623D" SIGN2="02B6 \
5026 DBDA 268F DAC3 50E7 0A6A BD82 6A5C C926 B368 5DD2 5923 \
654E C5DD FFFF 1DD3 511B 66C1 0EF3 88FA 9667 7B43 57ED 08BC \
C699 4DD4 F866 9A99 665E"

As an example this INCREMENT for AutoCAD 2012 does have the DUP_GROUP key word. One license is checked out for the host. This license will prevent license usage for multiple users on the same host and is NOT to be used for the Citrix environment.

INCREMENT 85730ACD_2012_0F adskflex 1.000 permanent 5 \
VENDOR_STRING= commercial:permanent SUPERSEDE DUP_GROUP=UH \
ISSUED=29-Mar-2011 BORROW=4320 SN=399-99999999 SIGN="ABCD 8D3A \
94EA FFFF DE0D AF7C 77EC 9DB8 9695 A204 9229 C136 49EB 5423 \
82EB 11E3 FFFF 1DC0 917B 0FC0 B4F0 5555 8639 1F7C CCCC D20C \
DDDD C61D B7A3 AAAA" SIGN2="0808 DDDD B42B 030B AE34 42A5 4DD2 \
5FC3 0000 D699 AC7D 275C 9BEB 36A7 E993 1075 F3F8 3F17 5654 \
CB24 903E 7777 6897 71A8 3A41 A220 FA8A 57D6 4AB7 FDFD"

For installation and configuration steps refer to the Single server network license manager quick start guide solution.

KB document TS16755552 has this info:

AutoCAD Performance Recommendations for Citrix XenApp

Issue

You wish to know what user interface components most impact the user experience in the Citrix XenApp environment.
You wish to know recommended configurations to improve performance.

Solution

Tooltips

ToolTips and rollover ToolTips significantly impact performance when running AutoCAD on Citrix XenApp. We recommend that you disable ToolTips and rollover ToolTips. To disable ToolTips and rollover ToolTips, click Application menu button > Options. On the Display tab of the Options dialog box, clear the checkmarks for Show ToolTips and Show rollover ToolTips. You can also reset the TOOLTIPS and ROLLOVERTIPS sysvars to 0 at the command line.

Dynamic Input

Dynamic Input significantly impacts performance when running AutoCAD on Citrix XenApp. We recommend that you disable Dynamic Input. To disable Dynamic Input, right-click the Dynamic Input icon on the Map Status Bar or enter DSETTINGS at the command prompt. On the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box, clear the checkmarks for Enable Pointer Input, Enable Dimension Input where possible, and Show command prompting and command input near the crosshairs. You can also hide the Dynamic Input icon by right clicking on it and clearing the check next to Display > Dynamic Input.

Selection Preview

Selection Preview significantly impacts performance when running AutoCAD on Citrix XenApp. We recommend that you disable Selection Preview when no command is active. To disable Selection Preview when no command is active, click Application menu button > Options. On the Selection tab of the Options dialog box, clear the checkmark for When no command is active. You can also reset the SELECTIONPREVIEW sysvar to 2 at the command line.

AutoCAD 2012 and Revit 2012 are Citrix Ready

JTB FlexReport can be used to monitor license usage of Autodesk Citrix Ready products.

AutoCAD 2012 and Revit 2012 are Citrix Ready

Good news for Citrix users with AutoCAD and Revit based products. Something many been waiting a long time and might be a sole reason to upgrade to the 2012 version.

This is from the press release:

Autodesk Announces Eight More ‘Citrix Ready’ Verified Applications

Several Applications in Autodesk’s New Building and Infrastructure Design Suites Take Advantage of Citrix Networking and Virtualization Solutions

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, announced that eight design software products including AutoCAD 2012, AutoCAD Architecture 2012, AutoCAD Map 3D Enterprise, AutoCAD Mechanical 2012, AutoCAD MEP 2012, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012, Autodesk Revit Structure 2012 and Autodesk Revit MEP 2012 software have been verified as Citrix Ready*.

“There is a clear advantage to our mutual customers to have additional Autodesk applications join us in the Citrix Ready program”

Autodesk became a member of the Citrix Ready program in 2008 with AutoCAD Map 3D and AutoCAD Raster Design. The Citrix Ready program helps customers identify third-party solutions recommended to enhance virtualization, networking and cloud computing solutions from Citrix Systems, Inc. Autodesk completed a rigorous verification process to ensure compatibility with Citrix XenApp 5 and Citrix XenApp 6, enhancing confidence in joint solution compatibility.

“As a member of the Citrix Ready program, we are better able to offer customers more intelligent solutions that combine our leading 3D design software with the Citrix XenApp product line,” said Robert Vizza, director of Strategic Alliances at Autodesk. “Since joining the Citrix Alliance Program in 2008, Autodesk customers have enjoyed the benefits of Citrix Ready solutions, which include centralized management of data and resources, reduced client hardware requirements and support costs, and consolidation of servers. Our nine Citrix Ready software offerings demonstrate our continued collaboration with partners to provide the highest-quality experience for our customers.”

Hosting Autodesk applications through Citrix XenApp provides users with the benefits of centralized computing (improved software deployment, configuration standardization, work-in-progress data distribution), as well as mobile computing, extending the reach of design data beyond the desk.

“Nearly every HOK project requires staff from multiple offices to collaborate on the same Revit model,” said John Bartolomi, vice president and director of IT Services at HOK. “All previous attempts to enable this type of collaboration presented challenges and unsatisfactory results. Running Revit over Citrix has solved a problem that seemed unsolvable just a few years ago. It provides a near desktop-like experience over rather modest bandwidth even over long distances. The Revit 2012 for Citrix is further optimized to take advantage of this great technology.”

The new Citrix Ready offerings complement Autodesk’s software and services direction by providing a remoting mechanism for some of the company’s most popular design applications. Autodesk software that supports both Citrix XenApp 5 and XenApp 6 includes AutoCAD 2012, AutoCAD Architecture 2012, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Map 3D Enterprise, AutoCAD Mechanical 2012 and AutoCAD MEP 2012 software. Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012, Revit Structure 2012 and Revit MEP 2012 software support Citrix XenApp 6 only.

“There is a clear advantage to our mutual customers to have additional Autodesk applications join us in the Citrix Ready program,” said Matt Lull, senior director, global strategic alliances at Citrix. “Citrix Ready makes it easier for customers to select the most suitable virtualization infrastructure products for their specific needs. By verifying additional products in our program, Autodesk continues to enable its customers to obtain the highest quality user experience available today, and the simplest means for making an informed product purchasing selection.”

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries -- including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about, visit www.autodesk.com.

About the Citrix Ready Program

The Citrix Ready program identifies verified solutions that are trusted to enhance virtualization, networking and cloud computing solutions from Citrix, including Citrix XenDesktop, XenApp, XenServer, NetScaler and GoToMeeting. The Citrix Ready designation is awarded to third-party products that have successfully met verification criteria set by Citrix, and gives customers an added confidence in the compatibility of the joint solution offering. The Citrix Ready program leverages industry-leading alliances across the Citrix partner eco-system to meet a wide variety customer needs, and currently incorporates over 2,800 partners who have demonstrated more than 18,000 product verifications. It also includes the Citrix Ready Community Verified program which allows customers to see thousands of products that have been verified by other customers to work in their production environments. The Citrix Ready program received the Alliance Excellence Award from the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) for creating a strong community through implementation of new, innovative best practices. More information about the can be found at www.citrix.com/citrixready. Reach Citrix Ready using social media via the Citrix Ready blog site and Twitter.

*The Citrix application is network-based, and performance of Autodesk Citrix Ready Applications may vary with network performance. The software does not include the Citrix application, nor does Autodesk provide direct support for issues with the Citrix application. Users should contact Citrix directly with questions related to procurement and operation of the Citrix application.

AutoCAD Content Explorer

AutoCAD 2012 introduces AutoCAD Content Explorer. It overlaps to some extent with the old Design Center and comes via Autodesk Labs Project Snap.

Content Explorer is available on the Plug-ins ribbon tab and comes with the commands CONTENTEXPLORER and CONTENTEXPLORERCLOSE and system variable CONTENTEXPLORERSTATE.

Content Explorer aggregates design content from different folders that have been specified for monitoring by the Content Service (that is using Lucene for index/searching). Content Service is a separate installer. The executable for the Content Service is named Connect.Service.ContentService.exe but Autodesk missed to add file properties to it like a proper description and company name. Now it just has an anonymous description: “Service”.

With Content Explorer you can index design content for quick access, catalog the objects in each file, and search for content in local folders (not external drives and USB devices), network folders (not Windows network drives), and the Autodesk Seek Library.

With Content Explorer, you can

• Browse and search design content in local folders, network folders, and the Autodesk Seek Library and immediately access files and objects from within the AutoCAD environment
• Browse into DWG files and access and insert blocks, layers, linetypes, styles, etc.
• Search for objects, all text, attributes (including block attributes), and files in specified local and network folders.
• Pinpoint specific block references or text strings and automatically navigate to the containing file
• Open any file from Content Explorer and zoom to any attribute within it
• Save search parameters for instant access to design content that meets your design needs
• Customize how search results are displayed to streamline your work environment
• Right-click and select Open and Find text to open the drawing and locate any text within.

All text and attributes in the files are indexed, including block attributes. In addition, the following objects are indexed when a folder is selected for monitoring:

• Block definitions
• Block references
• Dimstyles
• Layers
• Layouts
• Linetypes
• Multileaderstyles
• Tablestyles
• Textstyles
• Xrefs
• Hyperlinks

Manage Saved Searches in Content Explorer

The saved searches feature allows you to capture a certain search string in a single click.

You can eliminate all of the steps required to search for specific files or objects by saving the search string.

For example, you can save a search that locates all of the furniture created by a specific designer. Any time you want to quickly access furniture, select the saved search. Since the index is continuously updated, any new files that meet the search criteria are displayed every time the search is recalled.

You can also delete saved searches, edit the names of existing saved searches, and save new searches on the Saved Searches drop-down menu.

Advanced Searching with Content Explorer

Advanced searches can be performed using property:value pairings or boolean operators.

You can refine your searches by using string combinations and value pairings.

Use Property Name and Value Pairs

A property:value pair is the property name and specific value for which you want to search. To search for a property with a specific value, enter the data as property:value in the Search field.

For example, enter author:jsmith in the Search field to find all of the DWG files where the author was JSmith.

More than one property:value pair can be used in a search string. For example, you can search for all of the drawing files identified as seating which were created by jsmith by entering objecttype:seating author:jsmith in the Search field.

You can create custom properties and values for your files on the AutoCAD properties dialog box.

Use Attributes and Value Pairs

An attribute:value pair is the block attribute and specific value for which you want to search. To search for a block attribute with a specific value, enter the data as attribute:value in the Search field.

For example, enter Designedby:JohnDoe in the Search field to find all of the objects designed by John Doe.

Search Text for a Specific Value

With the basic search capability, you can enter a text string and the search engine will return all files with a file name, keyword, title, author, or other properties that meet the string criteria, as well as any files containing the string, and objects with names that match the text string. Sometimes this type of string search will return more results than you need.

Use the text:string pair to search only for text entities, such as leaders, fields, hyperlinks, MText, tables, or any other text that may show up on a drawing. This type of search parameter will not search file-level properties, such as Author or Title.

To search for a specific text string, enter the data as text:string in the Search field.

For example, enter text:reviewed in the Search field to find all of the files with text entities containing the string “reviewed.”

Search with wild cards

You can use wild cards when specifying search criteria.

* - Represents any number of characters within a string.

? - Represents a single character within a string.

The search engine assumes a trailing asterisk (*), so you do not need to put an asterisk at the end of a search phrase.

Search with Boolean Operators

You can use operators to further refine your search results.

For example, to search for all of the files identified as seating that were not authored by JSmith, enter objecttype:seating NOT author:jsmith in the Search field.

AND - Searches for x AND y in any order. The search granny AND smith returns anything containing both words.

OR - Searches for either x OR y. The search granny OR smith returns anything containing either word.

NOT - Searches for x but NOT y. The search granny NOT smith returns anything containing granny but not smith.

" " - Searches for the exact phrase contained within the quotation marks. The search "granny smith" returns everything containing the exact phrase granny smith.

Filter Results in Content Explorer

The filter lets you choose object types, specific dates, date ranges, and relative dates to display in search or browse results.

Filter settings persist throughout searches and browsing until they are changed or the filter is deactivated. If you do not get the search or browse results you expect, try checking your filter settings to make sure they are current.

Indexing Stages

The indexing occurs in three stages, with deeper indexing occurring with each stage. The stages can be determined by the thumbnails displayed in the Content Explorer window.

And after a while when indexing is ready...

Stage	Icon Displayed	Description
1		File has been discovered by the indexer. By the end of this stage, file name and standard Windows properties have been extracted. You can search for file names and Windows properties, but you cannot explore the content within the file. Note! Since all text and attributes in the files are indexed, the initial index of the files contained in the watched folders may take some time to complete.
2		Thumbnail and DWG-specific file properties have been discovered. During this stage, all objects and any text in the drawing, including block attributes, are being indexed. You can now search for DWG properties, but you cannot explore the content within the file.
3		File is completely indexed. You can now explore or search for content within the file.
!		There was an issue while indexing this file. Select the file and press CTRL+ I for more information regarding the issue.

Tips

If the Sheet Set Manager dialog opens every time you open a file in Content Explorer, it is because of the SSMAUTOOPEN system variable setting. Change the setting to suppress the dialog.

If you plan to search folders on several different network computers, Content Service must be installed on each network computer and the folders added to the watched folder list for indexing. Any machine running AutoCAD or an AutoCAD vertical with Content Explorer can access the network machines running Content Service for real-time search results.

See also Autodesk 2012 Content Explorer Service Hot Fix

Autodesk 2012 Content Explorer Service Hot Fix

This hotfix applies to the Autodesk 2012 Content Explorer Service (Public and Personal) and addresses the following issues:

• Users performing searches in Content Explorer may encounter incorrect paging results.
• Indexing problematic DWG files would require the Content Service to be restarted.
• Searching on a network drive that is configured to use a substitute path may not return any results.

Please review the readme document for installation instructions.

Get the hotfix here: DL16732560

Applies to:
AutoCAD 2012
AutoCAD Architecture 2012
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012
AutoCAD Electrical 2012
AutoCAD LT 2012
AutoCAD Map 3D 2012
AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
AutoCAD MEP 2012

Solution to System.IO.FileLoadException Could not load file or assembly error

I had a customer that downloaded a DLL to load in AutoCAD with NETLOAD having problem to get it work.
The solution to the error found at the bottom is to right click on the DLL file and click on Unblock button to the right of the text: This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer.

If this does not work AlternateStreamView might work. Run it and delete all streams marked ":Zone.Identifier:$DATA" for the selected files (it might be .DLL, .ZIP, .EXE, .7z) to get rid of the security blocks.

Typical Error causing this problem found below:
Cannot load assembly. Error details: System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not
load file or assembly 'file:///C:\Users\JTB\AppData\Roaming\JTB
World\DimNotes\JTBDimNotes.dll' or one of its dependencies. Operation is not
supported. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131515)
File name: 'file:///C:\Users\JTB\AppData\Roaming\JTB
World\DimNotes\JTBDimNotes.dll' ---> System.NotSupportedException: An attempt
was made to load an assembly from a network location which would have caused
the assembly to be sandboxed in previous versions of the .NET Framework. This
release of the .NET Framework does not enable CAS policy by default, so this
load may be dangerous. If this load is not intended to sandbox the assembly,
please enable the loadFromRemoteSources switch. See
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=155569 for more information.
at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly._nLoad(AssemblyName fileName, String
codeBase, Evidence assemblySecurity, RuntimeAssembly locationHint,
StackCrawlMark& stackMark, Boolean throwOnFileNotFound, Boolean
forIntrospection, Boolean suppressSecurityChecks)
at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly.InternalLoadAssemblyName(AssemblyName
assemblyRef, Evidence assemblySecurity, StackCrawlMark& stackMark, Boolean
forIntrospection, Boolean suppressSecurityChecks)
at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly.InternalLoadFrom(String assemblyFile,
Evidence securityEvidence, Byte[] hashValue, AssemblyHashAlgorithm
hashAlgorithm, Boolean forIntrospection, Boolean suppressSecurityChecks,
StackCrawlMark& stackMark)
at System.Reflection.Assembly.LoadFrom(String assemblyFile)
at Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime.ExtensionLoader.Load(String fileName)
at loadmgd()