Why no download for 64-bit AutoCAD trial?

I just helped a friend with finding a download for the trial of AutoCAD 64-bit and found that it was not available.

Location Error - Trial Download Request
Trial Not Available
This trial program is not available in some countries.

Still it was tried to be downloaded from US. The download page said “This offer is valid only in the United States and Canada.” but still it did not work.

So, this is hopefully a temporary bug but how about downloads from other countries?

After a short search I found that UK and Ireland and Sweden had downloads available from the local Autodesk sites and this might be true for other countries as well. Hope so.

On the topic of downloads:

Autodesk just introduced a New Upgrade Delivery Policy.

Starting in 2010, software download will become the default method for delivering software upgrades to Subscription customers in 37 participating countries. Subscription customers in these countries will no longer receive boxed shipments unless specifically requested; instead, they will receive an email notification that their upgrade is available to download.

One of the reasons mentioned is:

Sustainability—Because there’s no printing, packaging, or shipping, it’s a more sustainable choice.

Licensing error 1.5.-15 in Network License Manager

When you started the network version of AutoCAD 2009 or AutoCAD 2010 on a Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7 workstation, you received licensing error 1.5.-15.

Basically the solution is to open Local Area Connection Properties dialog box and clear the "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)" check box. Hopefully a better solution will come as IPv6 might be needed eventually.

Knowledge Base document has all details: Licensing error 1.5.-15 when running the Network License Manager on Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7

Here is another identical error but another solution: AutoCAD 2007 network license manager Error 1.5.-15

How to sync block attribute values with a database using ACAD_db

This tutorial will guide you through the steps on how to use ACAD_db to synchronize AutoCAD attribute values in a title block with a database. Use this tutorial together with the ACAD_db documentation. Download ACAD_db_example.zip to follow along and test for yourself.

Contact us to get a time limited license of ACAD_db for free.

List the title block to find the following information that needed.

Block Name: "ISO A1 title block"
Attribute tags:
CHECKED_BY
OWNER
DESIGNED_BY
FILENAME
DRAWING_NUMBER
APPROVED_BY_DATE
TITLE
DATE
EDITION
SHEET
SCALE

Copy the Access database template ACAD_db_EmptyTemplate.mdb that is included with ACAD_db and name it ACAD_db_Sheets.mdb. Because read and write access is needed for the MDB file it can be a good idea to not save it in the Program Files folder structure as it is often restricted to read-only.

Copy ACAD_db_samples.UDL and name it ACAD_db_Sheets.UDL and place it in AutoCAD’s Data Sources Location (Options>Files). Double click on the file and edit the path to the location of ACAD_db_Sheets.mdb.

Open ACAD_db_Sheets.mdb and then table JTBW_AttSync.

Add the information about the title block. The attribute DRAWING_NUMBER contains a field so SyncDir is set to DWGtoDB while other fields can be synchronized both ways.

 
In the column DBConnection there is the name of the data source followed by the table name followed by the field name separated with an exclamation character.

Here is what the table TitleBlock look like in the included in  ACAD_db_example.zip. Notice the mandatory fields DBID, DWG, Handle and BlockName.

In AutoCAD make sure JTB.ACADdbMgd.dll is loaded using one of the options specified in the documentation.

Run the AcDbSettings command and specify the name of the data source to be used. This should match the name of the UDL file that should be located in the Data Sources Location found running OPTIONS.

For each drawing that should be synchronized with the database run the command AcDbMake to make the connection. This needs only to be done once per drawing.

Make changes to the title block.

Save and Close the drawing. Open the database and verify that the table TitleBlock is populated with the attribute values.

Make a change in the database on one or many values.

The changes are seen when the drawing is opened.

Any type of block with attribute can be synchronized with ACAD_db in this same manner. There can be for example one title block on multiple layouts in one drawing or it can be blocks that represent building elements or schematic symbols. The choice is yours.

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

Autodesk Asset Locator replaces Autodesk Product Manager

The Autodesk Asset Locator tool will find a majority of the Autodesk products installed on PCs and/or servers and generate a list of software assets in order to help customers with their Software Asset Management practices.

AAL will determine the Autodesk software products you have and where it’s installed by locating:

• Product, version, and serial number
• Product language
• Network or stand-alone installation type
• Service pack level
• Installation location

Download the Autodesk Asset Locator.

Via Without A Net

UPDATE: The Autodesk Asset Locator and its follow up product Autodesk Inventory Advisor have both been retired by Autodesk. See also our SAM product JTB FlexReport.

Revit license issues and solutions

Knowledge Base documents:

When launching Revit you are unable to obtain a network license on a specific workstation but other workstations can obtain a license.
Revit network license troubleshooting

After launching Revit 2010 products a license error occurs and the Product and License Information displays an error 17 status.
Revit 2010 error 17 license status troubleshooting

When you launch an AutoCAD 2010-based product it is able to acquire a license but a Revit 2010 product is unable to acquire a network license.
AutoCAD 2010 products are able to acquire a network license but Revit 2010 products cannot

After you reinstall an Autodesk 2010 product redundant licensing no longer functions for Revit.
After reinstalling an Autodesk 2010 product Revit redundant licensing no longer functions

After launching Revit 2009 64-bit products you receive an Unable to obtain a floating license error at the Recent Files page.
Revit 2009 64-bit products display floating license error after startup

Revit 2010 is not able to recover a lost network license when Revit is running. The program switches to Demo mode and any open data files will not be saved.
Revit 2010 License Timeout Workaround - Update 2 and Subscription Advantage Pack Build

Create an environmental variable for FLEXLM_TIMEOUT
Error: A valid license could not be obtained by the network license manager

This can also be useful: Clean uninstall of Revit 2010 products describing what folder, files and registry locations that needs to be removed.

For reports on license utilization and usage see JTB FlexReport.

CAD on the web with Autodesk’s Project Butterfly

Want to edit DWG files on the web? Take a look at Project Butterfly Home Page on Autodesk Labs. Project Butterfly is a Flash based program that allows you to edit, co-edit, and review designs using your web browser. I first tried to use my Autodesk Labs login but it didn’t work so after contacting the Autodesk Labs, Scott made a blog post on how it works to login to Project Butterfly.

Doing some basic drawing and editing works very easily and snap and ortho is available so exact work can be done. There is no distance or area command but dimensions can be added. Zooming can be done with the wheel but panning requires the use of left button and space key. Note also that the zoom tools are at the bottom right and not in the Ribbon menu (where I first looked for them).

I tried to import the Budweiser compatibility benchmark drawing for 2010 and as you can see it worked except that 3D objects were not imported and as you can see most of the tests did not work. One example is that dynamic blocks are not supported. We have to see what direction Autodesk takes with this application and how compatible it will be with DWG and AutoCAD as well as what complexity and feature richness will be added.

Offset is limited to specify the distance in the dialog only. It would be useful to be able to specify it on the screen too just like you can with the Move command.

Layouts, Xrefs and different View Modes are supported.

Plot Styles can be managed.

Fonts can be imported but I think some of the fonts like those missing below should be available by default.

Is this something that started to be developed by Autodesk? No, take a look at this Cadalyst article about VisualTao also known as PlanPlatform that was acquired by Autodesk in December 2009 (Autodesk Acquires Sequoia-Backed Software Design Startup PlanPlatform).

Via It’s Alive in the Lab. Take also a look at the Project Butterfly Blog that showcases this intercity rail car.

Project Butterfly Technology Preview’s Web client application is based upon Adobe Flash and Flex technology. Autodesk is hosting Project Butterfly Technology Preview’s Web servers on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service. The Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) stores application and user data.  Project Butterfly Technology Preview also uses AutoCAD RealDWG technology to read and write DWG files. - Technology behind Project Butterfly

AutoCAD Automation Tools 3.3 released

AutoCAD Automation Tools has been updated to version 3.3 and the most recent updates are:

• Minor fixes to improve export from Excel to better handling the typical Excel problem with empty rows at the bottom of a sheet.
• Minor fixes that for some users might make the commands not working at all.

This means that if you have version 3.1 and experience no problem there is no real need to upgrade. But if you just have installed 3.1 and not used it, consider to get version 3.3 instead.

Existing customers have access to this upgrade at no cost. Contact us to get it.

Others that want to give AutoCAD Automation Tools a try can download a trial directly from the website. Give it a try and see how you can avoid a lot of tedious manual work when you need to update a lot of drawings. Use familiar Excel where you enter the needed data in one of the three templates and you can create new drawings, update existing drawings or insert new objects on existing drawings. Edit title blocks or other blocks, most of your needs can be solved.

AutoCAD Automation Tools works with most every AutoCAD based application and version and for Bricscad 10 there is the CAD Automation Tools.

CarrotSticks a great way to train math skills for kids

I love math and knows the importance and value of it. I can definitely recommend this for your kids. You can play CarrotSticks here and try it out first without even registering. Kids can practice and play for themselves or compete with peers and learn the fun of math.

Via Saraapril in Club Penguin’s post CarrotSticks a Brand NEW Game :)

Run-time error '429': ActiveX component can't create object solution for VBA 64-bit

Code like this will result in error in AutoCAD Architecture 2010 64-bit:
Set SchedApp = New AecScheduleApplication

Or this in AutoCAD 2010 64-bit:
Set SSM = New AcSmSheetSetMgr

One method that seems to work is to move the code from within a sub to the declaration like this:
Private SchedApp As New AecScheduleApplication

Another method is to replace it using GetInterfaceObject like this:
Set SchedApp = ThisDrawing.Application.GetInterfaceObject("AecX.AecScheduleApplication.6.0")

The reason is that VBA runs as an out-of-process client in 64-bit applications.

Unfortunately this also means that Sheet Set Manager API cannot be used in 64-bit applications because it is a COM server that cannot be called from another process as opposed to an ActiveX server.

Another 64-bit related problem is in AutoCAD Architecture 2009/2010 and AutoCAD MEP 2009/2010. In Tools>References the AutoCAD tlb shows up but not for the verticals. The same problem is also in .NET if you look at the COM tab when adding references.

The solution for this is a fix in the registry that look like this:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{E8BCE300-BF69-431B-9153-1FF0DEF8F613}\6.0\0\win32]
@="C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Autodesk Shared\\AecXBase60.tlb"

It needs to be done for each tlb you want to use. There is a win64 key but the win32 key is missing so it needs to be added.

Here is also a Microsoft KB describing similar problems with Office.

Speed up Windows 7 logon with 30 seconds

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a computer that is running windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
• You set a solid color as the desktop background.
• The Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service is running.
• You log on to the computer locally.

In this scenario, the Welcome screen is displayed for 30 seconds during the logon process.

See details in this hotfix or just change the background to using a picture that can be a solid color.

Decode FlexNet/FLEXlm license files

Everyone having a reason to look at a FlexNet license file knows that it can be pretty cryptic as well as to know what all Feature Codes are.

The License File Parser site Autodesk has put up allows you to easily convert the contents of your Autodesk license file into an easy to read report. Among other pieces of useful information, the report contains the full name of the licensed product, the serial numbers, and the number of seats.

Simply go to www.licenseparser.com, click the "Browse" button, locate your license file and then click the "Submit License File" button.

Here is what the result might look like:

If you also want reports for license usage either historically or for the moment take a look at JTB FlexReport where you for example can produce an HTML report like this.

AutoCAD Exchange 9 months later

AutoCAD Exchange, Autodesk’s online community for AutoCAD users, has received nearly 300,000 unique visitors from more than 200 countries around the world since March 2009 according to the press release.

If you haven’t checked it out already take a look and see what you like about it.

Update: Via twitter came this info from @Binrock @jtbworld Did you know that #AUGI had 4 times as many during the same period? 1.2 million absolute unique visits

I wonder what autodesk.com/discussion stats is?

Distributed File System (DFS) Problems in AutoCAD 2010

DFS have never been officially supported even though I my experience have not had any problems. But now there is issues if you use an AutoCAD 2010 product.

Knowledge Base document: Distributed File System (DFS) Problems in AutoCAD 2010

Issue

You are experiencing problems with AutoCAD 2010 (or a vertical product based on AutoCAD 2010) not working with DFS.

Solution

Although Autodesk does not officially support using the Windows Distributed File System with AutoCAD and AutoCAD-based vertical products, it has been known to work properly in the past and many customers use DFS with our products.  We have recently identified two separate issues that can affect DFS usage.

The first problem is the inability to open a DFS folder from the File Navigation dialog in AutoCAD 2010.  This problem has been corrected in Update 1 for AutoCAD 2010.  If you are using AutoCAD LT 2010, or a vertical product, you should apply the Update for that product that includes Update 1 from AutoCAD.  For most vertical products, that will also be Update 1 however, for AutoCAD Civil 3D, that will be Update 2.

The second problem is the inability to open folders on a DFS share by double-clicking.  This is mostly seen on Vista SP2 and Windows 7 and is due to changes Microsoft made in those operating systems to change a folder to a link.  For file folders that won’t open using double-click, the recommended work-around is to pick the Open button instead.

Link pasted with this Autodesk KB plugin for Live Writer.

SmartPurger update available

After the posting SmartPurger 3.0 for AutoCAD scripting now with 64-bit support there is now available an update of SmartPurger with version number 3.0.4 that fixes some of the regression bugs from 3.0. Update is available free for existing customers.