As the person on-tools, you have a lot on your plate and no doubt want to get back to creating something cool. Below we have compiled some tips and tricks to hopefully remove some barriers and make things run a little more smoothly.
How to get help
If there are any quirks not covered below, reach out to the person in your company that has Autodesk portal permissions (we call them Primary or Secondary admins). If it is beyond their capabilities or that of your in-house IT department, reach out us and we will put you in touch with our team of specialised techs.
Downloading Software
The important stuff!
Start off by logging into manage.autodesk.com If it's your first time in the portal, you will be directed to setup a profile (A link will also be sent to you from Autodesk once you are assigned a license).
Navigate to the 'All Products and Services' tab and scroll or search for your tool of choice.
You may have a standalone product like AutoCAD, or a Collection that includes a whole bunch of useful tools to play with. Download the software by clicking 'Download' or 'Install' and follow the prompts.
Cloud-based software will simply click 'Access' and follow the setup prompts.
If you are from a larger organisation, you may need to get permissions from your IT department to download new software or navigate firewalls. Outside this, please let us know if you run into any trouble.
Downloading older versions are also possible by selecting the desired date from the dropdown before clicking 'Download'. For older versions, you can reach out to us and we can provide some download links, though recent versions are always recommended.
You can download your software on more than one device, but can only be logged into one at a time. Eg, if you logged in at home, then at work, your home session will be logged out, so you are also not able to share passwords with colleagues otherwise one of you will keep getting booted out and risk any files you create.
Updating your software
Autodesk release updates roughly every 3 months or so. To prevent errors and issues, it's advised to keep your software updated. Some older versions may also have security fix updates. Keep an eye out to make sure you're up to date.
First things first, this solution is for Windows (Primarily versions 10 and 11).
- Login to your portal: manage.autodesk.com and navigate to 'Product Updates' under 'Products and Services'
- Set the release date to 'All'.
- Start typing these updates into the search bar (but go slow, it can be temperamental)
-> Autodesk Licensing service
-> Single Sign on Component
-> Identity Manger (For 2024 product versions and later) - Click the Download button when it appears at the top of the list to download and update.
The .exe file will then download to your Windows Downloads folder in a zip file where you can extract the .exe file and then install it. (Make sure your Autodesk programs are all closed first).
Tip: If you're working in a locked down IT environment, you will need your IT group to assist you with this.
After install, open your Autodesk product to check licensing is not working.
Hopefully that did it...
What to do if you can't access your software
Often, if you didn't receive an email from Autodesk with a link to the download section of the portal, your company administrator may not have assigned the license to you yet within their admin portal. First step would be to ask internally if your seat has been assigned.
It would also be worthwhile checking what hardware you are using. Some complex and hefty software such as Revit have minimum space requirements to download. Steer away from using a laptop and still make sure your computer is up to the task.
Internal firewalls and other security features may be blocking the download if you work for an organisation that has a dedicated IT department or external resource. Check with them for any blockages on your end, then give us a call to troubleshoot if the coast is clear.
Using Tokens?
If you are an infrequent user, you/your company may have purchased a series of Flex Tokens.
These are handy for accessing any tool you like on a day to day basis. Perfect for a single project or causal contractor. Your admin will just need to assign tokens to your email address in their portal.
Different software costs different amounts of tokens depending on the tool. Something like Fusion 360 only costs 2 tokens per day, but Revit will cost you a whopping 10 tokens per day.
The days will roll over once you hit the 24hr mark, so it's vital that you remember to log off once you are done for the day. But if you accidentally open and close a product within 5 mins, you won't be charged, mistakes happen.
Training
How to use the software itself is a whole other beast and requires a full course. Not exactly something we can fit into the tail end of this lowly article. So chat to the powers at be in your organization if you think you'd benefit from a level up with some upskilling.
We can set you up with some online self-led PLUS training, but our pièce de résistance (Our parent company is French afterall) for training is our Online, In-person training. This can be arranged in a pre-scheduled group session setting for individual learners, or we can customise a program for larger teams.
Check out or digital brochure here or website here to learn more.
We are also often hosting plenty of webinars, appear at trade shows and share lots of interesting tid bits of information throughout the year, so connect on our socials or join our mailing list to stay in the loop.