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Design review 2008 run slow

20 REPLIES 20
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Message 1 of 21
Anonymous
921 Views, 20 Replies

Design review 2008 run slow

If Users runs Design review 2008, it starts very slow, under admin is OK.


Why?
20 REPLIES 20
Message 2 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Hi Mario,

I wouldn't expect that to be the case but I'll look into it. Can you tell me what Operating System you are using and what version of Internet Explorer you have installed?

Just to confirm, does the slowness at startup happen every time the User launches the application or just the first time the application is launched following installation? Also, is the user attempting to open a specific DWF file when the slowness occurs or is this behavior happening just launching to the Getting Started page?

Thanks in advance for the additional info.

Scott Lillibridge, QA Manager
Extended Design Solutions
Autodesk, Inc.
Message 3 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Win XP sp2 full updated, IE 7 or 6.

Slowness is every time, except if the user is in power users group or
admins
group.


On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:31:59 +0200, SLillibridge wrote:

> Hi Mario,
>
> I wouldn't expect that to be the case but I'll look into it. Can you
> tell me what Operating System you are using and what version of Internet
> Explorer you have installed?
>
> Just to confirm, does the slowness at startup happen every time the User
> launches the application or just the first time the application is
> launched following installation? Also, is the user attempting to open a
> specific DWF file when the slowness occurs or is this behavior happening
> just launching to the Getting Started page?
>
> Thanks in advance for the additional info.
>
> Scott Lillibridge, QA Manager
> Extended Design Solutions
> Autodesk, Inc.



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Message 4 of 21
mattrogers13
in reply to: Anonymous

I'm experiencing the same slow opening issue as well.

I first thought DR 2008 wasn't opening at all.

I have it loaded on a 2GHz IBM ThinkPad with 512MB RAM, IEv6, Windows XP Pro.

When I lauch DR either directly from the start menu or by opening a DWF file with "Open With". DR goes to "Not Responding" in Windows Task Manager and stays that way for almost 5 minutes. If you wait long enough it appears it finally launches and goes back to "Running" state in Task Manager. Seems to work ok after the intial wait to start.
Message 5 of 21
Sharkey
in reply to: Anonymous

I have installed this on two users computers and I'm experiencing the same 4 to 5 minutes for the program to launch. In my case it doesn't seem to matter whether it's run with admin rights or not.

It was installed with admin rights on Dell GX520s with 512KB of RAM.

As a test, I also installed in on my own laptop, a Dell D620 with a Gig of RAM. Same results.
Message 6 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

The same slowness is with version 2007 and dwf viewer 7

Only in one computer is NOW OK, I dont know why.



On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:01:58 +0200, Sharkey wrote:

> I have installed this on two users computers and I'm experiencing the
> same 4 to 5 minutes for the program to launch. In my case it doesn't
> seem to matter whether it's run with admin rights or not.
>
> It was installed with admin rights on Dell GX520s with 512KB of RAM.
>
> As a test, I also installed in on my own laptop, a Dell D620 with a Gig
> of RAM. Same results.



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Message 7 of 21
bduguid
in reply to: Anonymous

Same problem here - the initial window just hangs on opening, for several minutes, every time the software is run. We had the same problem with the previous DWF Viewer, it was never fixed and largely eliminated our interest in using the DWF format (I represent a large user with about 400 AutoCAD seats, so you can see that this is a significant problem). Windows XP Pro SP2, 504MB RAM, 2GHz CPU. Design Review 2008 just installed, I have AC 2006 installed plus there will be bits from previous DWF Viewer installations sitting around.

I did wonder whether this was a firewall issue e.g. whether the software is trying to access the internet or similar.
Message 8 of 21
bduguid
in reply to: Anonymous

I see you also asked for the IE version, I'm running IE6.
Message 9 of 21
jeremyn
in reply to: Anonymous

I had the same problem and seems to have fixed by changing the registry to prevent ADR searching for automatic updates which may be being blocked by the firewall.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Design Review\Settings\AutoUpdate]
"URL"=""
Message 10 of 21
bduguid
in reply to: Anonymous

Yes, that does the trick, thanks. All we need now is for Autodesk to fix it properly, as I don't want all my users having to manually edit the registry to get this to work!

Brian
Message 11 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

"All we need now is for Autodesk to fix it properly."

IMHO this is a matter for debate. Newer versions of Autodesk Design Review,
such as those that contain fixes for problems, will be released. The ability
to obtain newer versions of Autodesk Design Review, without requiring the
user to manually check for updates, is a feature. You company is opting to
bypass this feature with your firewall protections. I recognize the
inconvenience this causes you, but I am not sure this is something we should
"fix." Instead we have documented the process for "locking down the product
to a particular release."

http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/2006/07/locking_users_i.html

This blog article was for DWF Viewer 7.0 but the same strategy applies for
Autodesk Design Review 2008.

wrote in message news:5551491@discussion.autodesk.com...
Yes, that does the trick, thanks. All we need now is for Autodesk to fix it
properly, as I don't want all my users having to manually edit the registry
to get this to work!

Brian
Message 12 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Not work.


Version 6 and 6.5 work normaly.



On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:01:19 +0200, bduguid wrote:

> Yes, that does the trick, thanks. All we need now is for Autodesk to fix
> it properly, as I don't want all my users having to manually edit the
> registry to get this to work!
>
> Brian



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Message 13 of 21
bduguid
in reply to: Anonymous

I don't regard this as a matter for debate. This tactic of software companies redefining bugs as "features" indicates a lack of respect for their customers, and as a major Autodesk customer, I would prefer that my complaints are treated as such rather than brushed off. Unfortunately, I'm somewhat used to this attitude with Autodesk, but it's a shame, as your customer service is otherwise considerably better than your major competitor.

Thanks for the pointer to the blog article, but that hardly leaps out at me if I go to the Design Review download page. I, and the several other users reporting this bug, have no way of knowing why the software we have just downloaded simply fails to work. Our firewall settings are not an attempt to "bypass" your feature - they are an important part of security for a global firm with over 10,000 employees, and they are not going to be changed just for this one product. Your "feature" should fail gracefully when it can't phone home e.g. with an error message after 15 seconds stating "unable to connect to update site, please check your firewall settings", which could then offer a simple tick-box to decline future update checking. Simply hanging for 5 minutes is not a "feature" it's a bug.
Message 14 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

I like your suggestion. I will pass it on to our Product Managers.

wrote in message news:5553006@discussion.autodesk.com...
I don't regard this as a matter for debate. This tactic of software
companies redefining bugs as "features" indicates a lack of respect for
their customers, and as a major Autodesk customer, I would prefer that my
complaints are treated as such rather than brushed off. Unfortunately, I'm
somewhat used to this attitude with Autodesk, but it's a shame, as your
customer service is otherwise considerably better than your major
competitor.

Thanks for the pointer to the blog article, but that hardly leaps out at me
if I go to the Design Review download page. I, and the several other users
reporting this bug, have no way of knowing why the software we have just
downloaded simply fails to work. Our firewall settings are not an attempt to
"bypass" your feature - they are an important part of security for a global
firm with over 10,000 employees, and they are not going to be changed just
for this one product. Your "feature" should fail gracefully when it can't
phone home e.g. with an error message after 15 seconds stating "unable to
connect to update site, please check your firewall settings", which could
then offer a simple tick-box to decline future update checking. Simply
hanging for 5 minutes is not a "feature" it's a bug.
Message 15 of 21
jeremyn
in reply to: Anonymous

I have to agree with bduguid it should be in the options menu as a toggle.
Message 16 of 21
ross.smith
in reply to: Anonymous

Add all the functionality you like, but ensure you have sensible error checking in there so the entire program does not hang because of an optional feature.

Checking for updates is simply not going to work in any large scale company.

Not only do our users have limited internet access, they do not have any permissions to install software on their machines. Programs that check for updates are a liability for us, not a benefit.

By all means have these features available for the small operations who do not have a dedicated IT department downloading and deploying updates.

But for the rest of us, these features should be configurable, and should fail silently and quickly.

There also needs to be a way for us to configure these settings as we install the software. Registry fixes do not work if your software overwrites them the first time it is run:

http://discussion.autodesk.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5518304
Message 17 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Autodesk Design Review can be installed without admin rights.

http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/2006/05/removing_the_re.html

For large companies, they install using a silent install and SMS:

http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/2007/02/free_autodesk_d.html

As part of the silent install, the process can tweak the registry to lock
users from checking for updates:

http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/2006/07/locking_users_i.html

Many companies worked with us during the beta and successfully applied this
process.

wrote in message news:5564961@discussion.autodesk.com...
Add all the functionality you like, but ensure you have sensible error
checking in there so the entire program does not hang because of an optional
feature.

Checking for updates is simply not going to work in any large scale company.

Not only do our users have limited internet access, they do not have any
permissions to install software on their machines. Programs that check for
updates are a liability for us, not a benefit.

By all means have these features available for the small operations who do
not have a dedicated IT department downloading and deploying updates.

But for the rest of us, these features should be configurable, and should
fail silently and quickly.

There also needs to be a way for us to configure these settings as we
install the software. Registry fixes do not work if your software
overwrites them the first time it is run:

http://discussion.autodesk.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5518304
Message 18 of 21
ross.smith
in reply to: Anonymous

Yes, but the only way to find out that *any* of that is possible is to hunt through a blog and read up on the settings for old software. A blog that incidentally can't be found easily (or at all) from the autodesk website.

If I search the knowledgebase to try to disable auto-update checking, I find nothing.

These kind of features should be considered as part of the package, and documented for corporate customers in the installation notes for the product.

I don't consider deploying registry hacks to disable auto-update checking to be a thoroughly planned solution.
Message 19 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

http://www.autodesk.com/blogs

This is what we worked out with others users during the beta. They were
successful with these registry updates. Something might happen for our next
release, but for now, the registry changes are the way to go.

wrote in message news:5565378@discussion.autodesk.com...
Yes, but the only way to find out that *any* of that is possible is to hunt
through a blog and read up on the settings for old software. A blog that
incidentally can't be found easily (or at all) from the autodesk website.

I don't consider deploying registry hacks to disable auto-update checking to
be a thoroughly planned solution.
Message 20 of 21
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Design Review\Settings\AutoUpdate]
@=""
"NextCheckDate"=dword:44d339d0
"URL"="http://www.autodesk.com/global/designreview/installer/designreviewsetup.txt"
"InitialCheck"=dword:00000001
"CheckInterval"=dword:0000001e
"DoNotShowAgain"=dword:00000001
"MarketMessageID"="MM0.0.0.0"

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