Up and Ready

Autodesk Simulation CFD 2014 - Options for installing

At this time, there are no options for installing or deploying Simulation CFD 2014 and the CFD team is aware of this limitation. 

The only way to install the update is to manually download it.

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/simulation-cfd/downloads/caas/downloads/content/simulation-cfd-2014-sp2-release-notes.html

Deploying Alias 2014 Help

The documentation for deploying the help files locally is noted here:

http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/installing_autodesk_alias_2014_help.html

To ensure that it will work correctly, please follow these steps [which is slightly different from the documentation]:

1.  Create an Alias Automotive 2014 Deployment.  The example path used in our tests was:

\\TOR2UA13809X0\Deploy\Alias2014b

2.  Create an ALIASHELP folder the Img folder and not AdminImage folder mentioned in the documention.

3.  Place the help installer file [autodesk_alias_2014_help.exe] in ALIASHELP folder.

When you edit the DEPLOYMENTNAME.ini file that is in the Img folder, the value is:

[ALIASHELP]
PLATFORM=NATIVE
PRODUCT_NAME=Autodesk Alias 2014 Help
EXE_PATH=AliasHelp\autodesk_alias_2014_help.exe
EXE_PARAM=s -a -s
ACTION=INSTALL

The documentation states the following which is incorrect.

[ALIASHELP]
PLATFORM=NATIVE
PRODUCT_NAME=Autodesk Alias 2014 Help
EXE_PATH=AliasHelp\Alias_help_2014.exe
EXE_PARAM=s -a -s
ACTION=INSTALL

For comparision, we have included the default .ini file and the edited .ini file for your reference, using a Text Editor [Notepad], open both files and search for ALIASHELP.

Hack [installs help files]:  TEST.ini
Default: TEST-default.ini

If you try to use the Include Addtional Software in the installation wizard noted below:

Your installation will still require input when you get to the autodesk_alias_2014_help.exe file even if your deployment is set to silent.

To get around the extraction wizard interaction, our expert from the Autodesk Japan office [Osamu Motoyama] added this flag in the command line parameter section of the wizard:  s -a -s via the EXE_PARAM value noted above.

Bonus tip:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2013/09/quick-start-suite-deployment-tips.html

Revit 2014 + Cloudworx = CER Report & Crash

For this Revit 2014 crashing issue, we had the Building Design Suite 2013 and 2014 installed.  All the Autodesk products worked except for Revit 2014. We tried using a Procmon to troubleshoot the problem but there was nothing looked out of place.  

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2013/09/revit-crash-at-startup.html

In this case, we analyzed the Journal files located here:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2014\Journals\

In this case, the Journal file pointed at CloudWorx for Revit add-in.

Once we uninstalled it, the Revit 2014 worked perfectly.  I would like to thank Chris Aquino for his analytical skills and Patrick Hevey for his patience as we slowly solved the issue.

Epilogue

If you require this add-in, the following workflow should get Cloudworx to run.

1.  Uninstall Cloudworx.
2.  Install Revit 2014/2015.
3.  Install Cloudworx.

Basically, Cloudworx must be the last product installed on the computer in order for it to function with Revit.  Thanks to Aaron Maller for sharing this tip with the community.

Autodesk Design Review 2013 Alternatives

This is an interesting article regarding Autodesk Design Review 2013:

http://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/2014/02/vpipg-cto-brian-mathews-was-on-our-team-when-he-invented-the-dwf-format-our-first-foray-into-sharing-design-data-via-the.html

Here is another tip, you can also use Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2014 or Autodesk Trueview 2014 to open/view Autodesk dwf or dxf files. Both  of these Autodesk programs are free*.

http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-navisworks-family/autodesk-navisworks-freedom

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=6703438&siteID=123112

Bonus tip:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=10535296&siteID=123112

*Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement that accompanies the software.

Epilogue

As of April 2014, all the products have been updated to 2015.

Tip: Autodesk Solution Re-direction

A lot of bloggers, resellers, Expert Elite forum users and Autodesk customers that are searching the web for answers, you may find this helpful.   In this example, we are using a long URL to confirm that it will not re-direct to the new Autodesk Knowledge Network solution location.

1.  If you put this long URL solution into Google:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=22947844&linkID=9242259

It references to Autodesk Maya 2014 Service Pack 4.

If you click on the link, it will re-direct you to the Maya Support (AKN) page.  You can then search for the Service Pack in the Maya Support page.

2.  As a workaround, you can also go to the Google cache of that page to get the download.

3.  If you re-use a lot of solutions, you can re-create working re-directed solutions by getting the TS/DL number and putting it at the end of the url template below:

a.  http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=

b.  Get TS or DL # from the Google cache page.

4.  If you use this short URL, it will get you to Maya 2014 SP4 correctly.

Technical Solution (TS) or Download Link (DL) short URL 

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL22947844

Autodesk Knowledge Network URL

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/downloads/caas/downloads/content/autodesk-maya-2014-service-pack--4.html

Reference

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2014/02/autodesk-knowledge-network-2014-is-now-live.html

Epilogue

Here is another tip from the Autodesk Knowledge Network Team:

The "old" URLs contain an ID field "id=#####" as noted below:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=16436702&linkID=9240617

That number is a unique identifier that can be added to one of the following URLs depending on the type of content:

Knowledge Base Article:

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/article/TS_____

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/article/GS_____

Download

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/article/DL_____

Using the example above, a corrected URL is:

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/article/TS16436702

Autodesk Products that require IPv6 NLM

Using empirical data, the 3 products that have historically required IPv6 NLM [Network License Manager] are:

• Autodesk Inventor
• Autodesk Vault
• Autodesk Simulation CFD

In this licensing scenario, the user had Product Design Suite and all the products were working except for Autodesk Inventor, we just swapped out the IPv4 versions of NLM with the IPv6 version and all the products in the Suite worked perfectly.

Just follow Step 7 via this blog post for an awesome workflow of swapping the lmtools.exe, adskflex.exe, lmgrd.exe, lmutil.exe:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/11/quick-start-setting-up-a-license-server.html

Reference

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2013/08/simulation-cfd-2014-the-basic-solver-license-could-not-be-checked-out-from-license-server.html

Autodesk Knowledge Network [2014] is now live!

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support

We have recently updated the "knowledge engine" on the Autodesk site. This means that some of our solutions that were traditionally searchable via Google may not work anymore because it has been indexing our data as Technical Solutions (TS).  In some instances, they do get re-directed but sometimes they don't.  For example, the Technical Solution [TS13587543‎] below may not work:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS13587543‎

As a workaround, you can use a Google cached version of the solution [or any cached solution]:

Please note that most of the solutions do indeed work and have proper re-directs:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS17838085

 

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Common-FlexNet-error-codes.html

 

Epilogue

 

Don't forget to clear your internet cache if the page doesn't re-direct correctly. i.e. beehive URL

 

Microsoft Fix It for Windows 8.1

I just found out that Microsoft Fix It tool won't work on Windows 8.1.   You will get this error:

We're sorry, but your operating system is not supported by Microsoft Fix it at this time.

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/Program_Install_and_Uninstall

It appears that the Microsoft Fix It has been re-branded as a Solution Center and this version works with Windows 8.1, Windows 8 & Windows 7.

1. Go here: http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/ 

2. Under Section 2, select:  Install or upgrade software or hardware

3. Run Now:  Fix problems that programs cannot be installed or uninstalled.

Video: Windows_8.1_Fix_It

Reference

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2012/06/windows-the-basics-of-using-microsoft-fix-it.html

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/e0e70cbd-c2a3-4552-8f1b-ec575199a899/fix-it-tools-does-not-work-with-windows-81?forum=w8itprogeneral

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9779673

Revit Crashes & Device Lock Software

For customers that use Device Lock software to secure the USB ports on their computer, please update it to the latest version.

If you are running an older version of Device Lock software, Revit will crash with the following error:

Autodesk Revit has stopped working

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: Revit.exe
Application Version: 2013.0.2012.221
Application Timestamp: 4f445896
Fault Module Name: Utility.dll
Fault Module Version: 2013.0.2012.221
Fault Module Timestamp: 4f4454eb
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 000000000020006c
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: c96d
Additional Information 2: c96dfbf12974af36f053fc17123e8634
Additional Information 3: e81d
Additional Information 4: e81d9cde7193b26389a78f7e2c1419de 

For our customer, Device Lock Version 7.1 solved the problem.  The latest version at the vendor site is 7.3.54087.

http://www.devicelock.com/download/

Thanks to John Hohman for sharing this tip with the community.

Updates for Revit + Revit Architecture + Revit MEP + Revit Structure

We have gotten this a couple of times in Product Support so I wanted to alert the community.  In summary, there are basically 4 flavours of Revit.

Most customers would have upgraded their Revit Architecture / Revit MEP / Revit Structure to the Building Design Suite's version of Revit.  This version of Revit is also known as "Revit One Box" as it has all 3 disciplines of Revit in it.

A quick Google search using the following search parameters will get you to the correct update/download:

• Revit Architecture updates
• Revit MEP updates
• Revit Structure updates
• Building Design Suite updates

Epilogue

This is the search link for Revit Updates for 2015 on the Autodesk Knowledge Network:

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/search?search=Revit%202015%20updates#?v=2015&cg=Downloads&sort=score&page=1