Autodesk AutoCAD 2015-2018 Geolocation Online Map Hotfix

Autodesk AutoCAD 2015-2018 Geolocation Online Map Hotfix is now available.

Microsoft is ending support for version 7 of Bing Maps on June 30th, 2017. This Hotfix will upgrade your version of Bing Maps to version 8 so that you can continue to use the Geolocation Online Map Data feature.

This Hotfix applies to all 32-bit and 64-bit publicly released versions of the following products (including Service Packs and Updates):

• Autodesk AutoCAD 2015, Autodesk AutoCAD LT 2015, and Autodesk AutoCAD 2015-based vertical products
• Autodesk AutoCAD 2016, Autodesk AutoCAD LT 2016, and Autodesk AutoCAD 2016-based vertical products
• Autodesk AutoCAD 2017, Autodesk AutoCAD LT 2017, and Autodesk AutoCAD 2017-based vertical products
• Autodesk AutoCAD 2018, Autodesk AutoCAD LT 2018, and Autodesk AutoCAD 2018-based vertical products

Using AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT 2014? See More About End of Feature Support for Bing Maps Version 7

Please check the Readme for detailed instructions and download the hotfix.

Extract Autodesk_AutoCAD_2015_to_2018_Geolocation_Online_Maps_Hotfix_32bit_64bit.zip and run Autodesk_AutoCAD_2015_to_2018_Geolocation_Online_Maps_Hotfix.sfx.exe

The hotfix can’t be uninstalled and even a repair or reinstall of AutoCAD will not restore this specific file. In this case it’s not too bad as it will not work anyway soon but for other hotfixes it can be a problem. The hotfix installer does not even create a backup copy of the old version. Also the hotfix will probably not show up in Autodesk Desktop App which is too bad. Delivering hotfixes like this is not a good practice.

The Autodesk product version showing in the About dialog box and the _VERNUM are not updated by this hotfix so only way to tell if it’s installed is by checking the version of the AcGeoLocationUI.arx located in the AutoCAD main installation folder.

File version for AcGeoLocationUI.arx:

AutoCAD 2015: 20.0.210.31

AutoCAD 2016: 20.1.107.33

AutoCAD 2017: 21.0.402.3

AutoCAD 2018: 22.0.102.0

If you’re curious what the hotfix installer does and learn some VBScript take a look at the vbs files in C:\Autodesk\Autodesk_AutoCAD_2015_to_2018_Geolocation_Online_Maps_Hotfix
This can be used to modify so you can install it in an environment with many AutoCAD installations.

Update. After June 30th, 2017 when you run for example GEOGRAPHICLOCATION command you can see a dialog like this:
Geolocation - Online Map Data
You do not have permission to access Online Map Data.
Go to Account Settings and check your entitlement to use online maps.
You can continue using Geolocation without access to maps.

Followed by:
Geolocation - Online Map Data Update
You must update your software before 2017-06-30 to continue using Online Map Data.
Get update information – You will be redirected to the Autodesk update website for more information.
Update later – If you choose not to update, then you can continue to use Geolocation without maps after 2017-06-30.