In the coming months, Autodesk is going to be making some changes to begin transitioning customers from plans based on serial numbers to plans based on people. Here's what you need to know:

May 7th will end the Move to Subscription Program (M2S).

• This program ends May 7, 2020. After this date maintenance customers will not be able to convert their perpetual licenses on maintenance to subscription.
• They will lose the opportunity to receive annual subscription pricing based on their 2019 maintenance pricing.
• After, May 7, 2020, they may renew their maintenance agreement (the last renewal) for one more year. However, after August 7th, 2020, renewal will be at a 20% higher price than what they paid in 2019.

Maintenance Trade-in Program Begins May 7th, 2020:

• If you have a maintenance renewal that expires after May 7th, you can trade-in one stand-alone license for one single-user subscription license or one network license for one multi-user subscription license. The subscription price will be like what you are paying today for maintenance.

Multi-User Trade-in Program – Begins August 7th, 2020:

• Customers with Multi-user licenses (subscription or maintenance) whose subscription or maintenance agreement expires after August 7, 2020, can trade-in one multi-user license and receive two single-user licenses and pay a price like what they are paying for one license at the time of the trade-in.
• Customers with Multi-user licenses on multi-year subscriptions that expire after August 7, 2020, can trade them in for two annual single-user licenses and pay a price like what they are paying at the time of the trade-in. The 2 for 1 deal is only good at their first renewal beginning after August 7, 2020.
• Customers who wait until their second renewal can trade-in one Move to Subscription Program multi-user license for one single-user license.

Design & Creation Suites Retirement - April 16th, 2020:

• The last release (2021) of the Design & Creation Suites is available for download now.

 
Pricing through 2028 for those who move to subscription:
Autodesk has provided guidance on subscription pricing for those customers who switched their maintenance software to subscription. Between 2018 and 2028, customers will see, at most, a 5% increase on odd-numbered years beginning in 2021 (2021, 2023, 2025 & 2027). Customers who trade in their multi-user subscriptions will have the same price protection as those who switched from maintenance to subscription.

For detailed information, plus terms and conditions on these programs, go to:
https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/transition-to-named-user
https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/transition-to-named-user/terms-and-conditions

Download a copy of this fact sheet.

By Scott Grub

We've got a BONUS AutoCAD® tip for Inventor users!

Does your scrollwheel zoom backwards in AutoCAD?  Want it to match Inventor? 

Set AutoCAD variable ZOOMWHEEL = 1. 

This will reverse the direction of the zoom to match Inventor. 

​Have you ever Wblocked geometry from a layout drawing only to find that you have duplicate lines, or several line segments making up one line?

You can use the “OVERKILL” command to quickly remove the extra lines or segments.

1. Type the Command: OVERKILL
2. Select objects by window, crossing, or “ALL”.

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​(Or, you can also access the command from the Modify tab > Cleanup panel.)

3. AutoCAD returns the number of objects selected and opens a dialog box with options.

4. Select the criteria to ignore, if any, then select “OK”. 
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5. AutoCAD then returns the number of duplicate objects removed and the number of overlapping objects or segments deleted.

Sometimes renewing your subscription isn't enough...

Regular renewal of your Autodesk® software subscription is important. It means you’ll always have access to the most current version and can keep your company and team competitive with others in the industry. However, in some cases, renewing your subscription is not enough to avoid interruption. If you have multi-user licenses on your contract, we’re talking to you.

Multi-user (or “network”, as some of you may know them) license files will expire 30 days after your contract expiration date, regardless of whether you have renewed your subscription. If your license file is not updated before those 30 days have passed, your software will cease to work. You will need to have a new license file generated in order to use the software.

Autodesk® sends you a new license file once you have renewed your subscription. Whoever is designated as your company’s contract manager will receive an email stating that your licenses have been renewed. He or she will ALSO receive an email titled, "Update your license files". Follow the instructions in the email in order to update your license file.*

The good news? If you have a MESA Support Contract, we will gladly help you get your new license file proactively, or even after your software has stopped working… though it works out better for everyone involved if you get in touch with us before that 30 day mark!

If you’re our customer and you’re not on a MESA Support Contract, but need our help, please call us anyway. We WILL help you.
 
*It IS possible to generate the new license file yourself, but if you’ve never done that before, we can show you how. If you have more than one type of industry collection on your contract or are running different server configurations, it can be a bit more challenging.

Having the proper training is important to the success of your career. It sets the foundation for almost every part of your work life: your efficiency, your productivity, your marketability, etc.

However, sometimes it's hard to know what training is necessary, especially if you're already using the software. We've listed 5 signs that might suggest you should consider taking an essentials training class:

1. You’ve never used the software. This might be obvious, but, if you’ve never used the software, you need training. Don’t waste your or your employer’s time and energy trying to teach it to yourself. You might get the hang of it, or you might not; and you likely won’t learn the most efficient workflows for your industry or specific job.

2. It’s been a long time since you last used the software. If it’s been a few years since you’ve used the software, or worse yet, 5-10 years since you’ve used it, you should probably take an essentials class. Chances are the software has changed a great deal. There are new features, or a completely different user interface than the last time you touched the software.

3. You’re switching from 2D to 3D. This is another no-brainer. If your company is currently a 2D shop but is in the process of implementing 3D, you really should take the essentials class for that software. 2D and 3D are completely different animals, with completely different thought processes. While 3D can often make things so much easier once you know what you’re doing, transitioning to it can be a rough road. An essentials class will get you through the bumps.

4. You taught yourself the software. Don’t get us wrong, we know you’re awesome at what you do. But sometimes, when we teach ourselves something, we learn the hard way to do it, or we don’t learn the proper workflow to do a process in a fast and efficient manner. Plus, it is surprising what little tips and tricks you can learn from working with an experienced instructor.

5. You're relying on your coworkers for help. Teamwork is important in any office, but if you're  constantly asking your coworkers for help, you should consider an essentials class. Everyone has their own workload, and you don't want to add to your coworkers' loads or slow them down. Also, if your coworkers are creating drawings faster than you can, there may be something you're missing: training.

There you have it. If one or more of the statements above are true to you, check out our training schedule or our catalog and let us help you get your skill levels where they need to be. Is getting approval for training from your manager an obstacle? Let us know, and we'll do our best to help you make your case.

If obtaining the necessary funds to get training is an obstacle, please check to see if you qualify for WEDNETPA Funding (if you are located in PA) -- if you do, your training could be FREE! Do a little extra research as well... there may be other state or local funding options available to you and/or your company.

Autodesk® recently announced a security vulnerability for current single-user subscribers using 2014 - 2017 versions of certain products, as well as current release versions of some products that have cloud-connected features (such as Revit®.) A full list of products and year releases affected, as well as more information from Autodesk can be found here: Transport Layer Security (TLS): Updates Required to Maintain Software Access
 
NOTE: Customers using products or year releases NOT listed at the link above, and customers using perpetual licenses OR multi-user subscription licenses will NOT be affected by this issue.
 
The Issue
Autodesk identified a vulnerability to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks in Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0/1.1 that can compromise data exchanges. Because of this issue, Autodesk Identity Services will begin using Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2, effective August 3, 2019. After that time, Autodesk Identity Services will no longer support TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1, resulting in connectivity issues if action is not taken prior to August 3, 2019.
 
What Should You Do?
To avoid connectivity issues on or after August 3, 2019, you will need to do one of two things: 

1. Download and install a newer release version of your software through your Autodesk Account or the Autodesk Virtual Agent (AVA) before August 3, 2019.
2. Download the appropriate License & Identity patch before August 3, 2019. Downloads can be found by clicking the appropriate year release next to the product you're using at this link: Transport Layer Security (TLS): Updates Required to Maintain Software Access​

​We suggest taking a look at the wider variety of materials available in the Autodesk® Material Library. If you like those materials, it is possible to set the Autodesk® Material Library as the active Material and/or Appearance Library in any Autodesk® Inventor® Project.
 
It is also possible to copy those materials to your Inventor® Material Library, or a custom Library, specific to your company’s standards. 

​Part of the modernization of the Autodesk® Inventor® User Interface, is that some feature dialog boxes are now tabs that can be docked in the browser. 
 
The dialog boxes will only show when the command is active, or a feature of that type is being edited. Once a box is docked, all the features that use the more modern style will show docked as well. This works with Extrude, Revolve, Sweep, Hole, and others. It is likely we'll see this approach happening more often because the key benefit is that it gives users more screen “real estate” for their model view. Below is a screen shot: