Autodesk is in the process of discontinuing network licensing and transitioning clients over to a named user model. Here are the next steps and instructions for Autodesk clients making the transition from network (aka NLM and/or multi-user) to standalone (aka SLM and/or single-user) licenses.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that your current license file will continue to work for up to 30 days after the expiration date of the outgoing contract. The end user’s computer will continue to look for a network license until the licensing/deployment type is switched or reset. In other words, you have a 30-day grace period to implement these changes. To check your exact license file expiration date, you can use this link: licenseparser.com.
The other thing to be aware of is that the prior use rights policy currently only allows new activations for up to 3 releases back on single user licenses (2018-2021). However, that is changing on November 2, when assigned users can start using up to five years back (2017-2021) by signing in. If you need to continue to use product releases 2015 or earlier, a special exception will need to be requested. Please see below for additional details on this.
Admin Next Steps
- Add & Assign users in your Autodesk Account Management portal any time after the licenses show up in your account. Check back when the contract is active, to make sure the assignments are still as expected.
- Install the latest licensing updates for your releases on the end user’s PC any time before changing the licensing/deployment type. For 2020 and 2021, you will want to install the Licensing Service Update and Single Sign on Component update. 2017-2019 use the older licensing services: 3.1, 5.1 and 7.1, which are available in your Autodesk Account Management Portal.
- Change licensing/deployment type from network to single user for 2018-2021 after the new contract is active. You will find instructions below. Assigned users will only have access to use 2018-2021 by signing in prior to Nov. 2
- For any 2016-2017 releases, switch the licensing/deployment type any time after Nov. 2, but before your license file expires
- If you need to continue to use product releases 2015 or earlier, send ATG a list of products, versions and release years that are needed right away, so we can request a prior use rights exception from Autodesk once the contract is active. Please note that prior use rights exceptions can take up to 30 days to get and are granted at Autodesk’s discretion. We will do our best to advocate for you.
- After all of the installed programs are switched to single user (you can confirm by checking “manage license” inside of the software), you can uninstall LM Tools from the server.
End User’s Next Steps
- Click through the welcome email right away after received (the links expire within 48 hours) > set password
- Sign into Autodesk software when prompted
Switching the Licensing/Deployment on the End User Workstations
The easiest way to change the deployment type (with any release year) is inside of the software. However, the bulk reset methods also shown below are much faster. Here is how to switch the licensing inside of the software:
- Open the Autodesk software
- Go into the “manage license” screen, which can be accessed from the drop-down menu right next to the user sign in in the top right of the software
- Click the drop-down menu that looks like this “<” to see more details in the manage license screen
- Click the button that says “change license type”
- Close the software and reopen it
- When the prompts pop up, click “single user” and “sign in” as the assigned user
Faster Licensing/Deployment Change Process for Versions 2019 or Earlier
- Locate the appropriate folder for the program you wish to change the deployment on with Windows File Explorer. Here is the default path to the LGS.data files: C://Programdata/Autodesk/CLM/LGS/[Product key for each version]_[version].0.0.F. Example folder name for Revit 2018: 829J1_2018.0.0.F
- Edit the LGS.data file in the first 2018 or 2019 folder in the Notepad app (right click, open with, Notepad), so that it says _USER (instead of _NETWORK), and then hit “save”
- Copy the newly modified LGS.data file and paste it into all folders for 2018 and later (replace the existing file)
- With Windows File Explorer, go to C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet and delete all adsk files in there (if any are in there)
Faster Licensing/Deployment Change Process for Versions 2020 or Later (this also works for earlier releases)
- Download the zip file from Travis Nave on this link: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/installation-licensing/how-to-reset-autodesk-2020-licensing/td-p/8699662
- Open the folder
- Right click on the exe file, and choose “run as administrator”
- Type “2” and hit enter
- Type the product key and hit enter
- Type the release year followed by .0.0.F using the example shown on the screen (i.e. 2021.0.0.F)
- Type “Y” and hit enter
- If you wish to reset other products/releases, type “Y” and hit enter and then repeat the process (starting after the script is opened in CMD). When you are done resetting products, exit the CMD prompt
Faster Licensing/Deployment Change Process for Versions 2020 or Later (this also works for earlier releases)
Autodesk is in the process of rolling out a new type activation method where users “sign in” to activate their products instead of putting in a “serial number”. So far, all licenses issued with the 2 for 1 trade in offer have been the “sign in” type. Some clients have a mix of “sign in” and “serial number” licenses.
- Clients with “by user,” “by product” and “classic user management” have licenses with both types of activation methods.
- Clients with just “user management” have all “serial number” licenses.
- Clients with just “by user” and “by product” have all “sign in” licenses.
There are two “new user management” pages where you can manage “sign in” licenses: 1) by user 2) by product. The “by user” is a lot like the “classic user management”. The “classic user management” is where the “serial number” licenses are assigned and managed. All network aka multi-user licenses are “serial number” licenses.
How to Tell If Your License Has a “Sign In” or a “Serial Number” Activation Method
- In the contract manager’s Autodesk account under “contracts”, expand the new contract(s) with the “<” button, and then look under activation for a serial number or the words “sign in.”
- In the contract manager’s Autodesk account, if the product is available to be assigned on the “by user” page, then it is a sign in license. If the product is available to be assigned on the “classic user management” aka “user management” page, then it is a serial number license.
- In the end user’s Autodesk account (after they have been assigned) under “all products and services”, locate the product/contract and click “<” to show more, then look under “activation” for a serial number or the words “sign in.”
License Assignment for “Sign In” Licenses
Note: The primary admin is assigned by default:
- Go to https://manage.autodesk.com and sign in using the contract manager’s email address
- Click “by user,” which is under user management on the left
- Observe the “teams” drop down at the top. Please select the appropriate team if you have multiple teams in the drop down. If you want your “teams” merged into a single team, or to split a single team into multiple teams, this can be done by creating a ticket with Autodesk and asking them to do it.
- The contract manager, aka primary admin, is assigned as the end user by default and has to be unassigned before it can be assigned to someone else. To unassign a license, click on the user who is currently assigned, and click the button that says “unassign” next to any products they do not use.
- If the new user is not in the list of users yet, click “invite users” towards the top of the “by user” page to add a new user (follow the formatting listed on the page). Then, click “send invite”
- When you see the user in the list on “by user”, you can click their name to get to the assignment screen and then click the button that says “assign” next to the software you want to give them access to.
- Optional: If you want to assign users to a product in bulk, add the user first, then go to the “by product” page, click on the product to be assigned, and then select from a list of users to assign in bulk.
License Assignment for “Serial Number” Licenses
- Go to https://manage.autodesk.com and sign in using the contract manager’s email address
- Go to the “user management” page (it is called “classic user management” if you have both “serial number” and “sign in” license types in your account)
- Click “edit access” next to the current end user’s profile who you wish to unassign from the license (the contract manager is assigned as the end user by default)
- On the user edit screen for the old/current user, uncheck all of the boxes next to the word “assign” under “All products and services” and/or “Industry Collections.” When the appropriate boxes are unchecked, click “save” at the bottom. This will unassign the old user from the license that was assigned to them.
- If the new end user is already in the list, just click “edit access” to get to the assignment screen and skip down to the final step below. If the new user is not in the list of users yet, click “add” towards the top of the users page to add a new user (make sure the box is checked that says “I’d like to add access to the user now [it should be checked by default]). Plug in the new user’s name and email address and hit “save”.
- On the next window, where you edit the user’s access and assign products, look under “All products and services” and/or “Industry Collections” and click the box next to the word “assign” that is next to the license that you want to assign to the new user, and hit “save.”
This is the end of the “next steps” portion of this blog. Below you will find additional information about managing Autodesk accounts in the account management portal.
Administrators
The “serial number” licenses can have up to two admins (one contract manager and one software coordinator), and resellers are able to change both of those. However, resellers are unable to add or change “secondary admins” for “sign in” licenses. The only person who can do that is the contract manager, aka primary admin. We can still change the contract manager if needed. The good news is that clients can now have unlimited secondary admins for “sign in” licenses.
To Assign “Secondary Admins” for “Sign In” Licenses
- Go to https://manage.autodesk.com and sign in using the contract manager’s email address
- Click “by user,” which is under user management on the left
- Make sure that you are managing the right “team” using the drop down at the top
- If the additional admin is already in the list of users, click on their square and proceed to the step below. If the additional admin is not in the list of users yet, click on “invite user” toward the top of the “by user,” enter the information, and then click “send invite”
- Once you have clicked the square for the new admin from the “by user” page, click “change role.” Then, click the button for “secondary admin” and click “save.”
To Assign/Change the “Software Coordinator” for “Serial Number” Licenses
- Go to User Management and click “get started”
- Sign in using the contract manager’s email address and click “next”
- Enter your serial number and click “next“
- Enter the current software coordinator’s email address and click “next”
- Enter the new software coordinator’s information, and click “next”
- Click the box that asks you to confirm if you are authorized to make the request, and then click “submit”
Reporting
Reporting for standard subscription contracts is somewhat limited at this time, as it does not include information about who is using each program specifically. If you would like to get a list of who is using which specific products, there is a workaround:
- Go to the “by product” page
- Click the product you want to see user assignment data on
- Manually select and copy the information from the page
- Paste that into Excel
Clients with 50 or more licenses have the option to upgrade to “premium” subscription which includes more detailed reporting that includes specific user information.
Report of Seat Usage – Standard Subscriptions
For all products, the seat usage summary tracks the following:
- Total users – When an assigned product is opened and used by someone on your team, they are counted in this list
- Total products – The list of assigned products that users have used
- Total seats – The total number of seats you have subscribed to for products with single-user access
To View the Seat Usage Summary
- Sign in to Autodesk Account at manage.autodesk.com and click Reporting > Seat Usage
- In the Seat Usage Summary report, select a time range from the list – This month, Last 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, or 12 months
- For AutoCAD including specialized toolsets, Industry Collections, and Suites, click the name of the product group to see usage by individual products
To Export Data
- Sign into your account at manage.autodesk.com and click Reporting > Seat Usage
- On the Summary tab, click Export as CSV
Conclusion
If you are in the process of transitioning from a network to a standalone Autodesk license, these instructions provide a helpful way to get started.
This blog is written by Sr. Support Specialist Angela LeFae. If you need help with this process or have any support questions, please email support@atgusa.com or contact the toll-free technical support line at 1-888-615-0677.
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