Did everyone else get AutoCAD 2014 with PDSU 2014?

[SeanFarr]

I don't have a separate installer like normal for AutoCAD 2014 in my 2014 tab of subscription center. Does everyone else have it?

Thanks!

[camilo.lemos]

Hi Sean,

The Install Now download option will allow you to select only the products you need to install from the Suite.

More about this here.

Best regards,

[SeanFarr]

I had no problem downloading and installing PDSU 2014, but AutoCAD 2014 is not bundled up with that suite (normally),

Here is a snap of my 2013 tab.

When I press the 2014 tab, all that is available is PDSU, and I think that AutoCAD 2014 is part of the bundle but has its own installer?

[cbenner · Accepted solution]

You are not alone in this, it's the new way to do it.  You can download and install Autocad right from the product site, download the trial version and then activate it fully during the install using the Product Key information from the Suite.  It works just fine, though I don't know why they decided to do it differently this year.

[camilo.lemos]

Hi Sean,

AutoCAD is part of Product Design Suite Ultimate 2014, here's a page showing all products contained in that suite.

Regarding your AutoCAD 2014 not showing in your downloads page, could you please send me the serial number of your AutoCAD 2014 or your subscription contract number via Private Message (click on my camilo.lemos profile name and then on Send This User a Private Message)?

Thank you,

[SeanFarr]

Hey Chris,

I followed your instruction and it worked out great,

Thanks,

on a side note, I sent my serial to Camilo and he replied back with this...

"I do not see a "vanilla" AutoCAD attached to your subscription contract, which is probably why you can't see a separate download link for this product alone.

Up to the 2013 version - when, for the most part, we did not have the Install Now option - separate links could be provided for the most popular programs in a suite. With the addition of Install Now to the download options, you can download the products separately using the suite Install Now download button as mentioned on my first reply to your post."

Am I missing something? I thought that PDSUltimate came with AutoCAD, or am I not understanding how the "Install Now" options works. I checked my PDSU installer and there was no AutoCAD program in the suite. Just AutoCAD Electrical and Mechanical.

Anyways, I got AutoCAD 2014 installed and activated.

Thanks!

[mcgyvr]

I believe I too remember seeing some note about mech and elec included but you needed to download vanilla by itself. (man my memory is fading.. I only did it last Friday)

[SeanFarr]

Yea I remember for 2013 release, that mech and elec were part of the Suite installer and for some reason the vanilla AutoCAD was on its own separate installer, but for some reason it was not showing up in my 2014 tab.

Anyway, took the other route, and ended up with the program and activated, all that matters!

Thanks!

[rdyson]

Mech and Elect are both verticals of Vanilla. When you load either they have to load Vanilla in order to work. To launch Vanill, expand the Mech or Elect tab in Start menu or copy a shortcut icon to your desktop.

[SeanFarr]

hmmm...what the hell? why do they make a separate installer then?

I knew that electrical and mechanical we just tweaked versions of AuotCAD, but I never assumed that it installed the vanilla version as well. We use the Electrical version here,

Good to know for future installations, although now I have a separate folder in my start menu for AutoCAD 2014, but I don't think AutoCAD is installed twice, according to my control panel ->programs and features .

Thanks!

[JDMather]

---

@SeanFarr wrote:

..., but I don't think AutoCAD is installed twice, according to my control panel ->programs and features .

Thanks!

---

If your Control Panel shows Mechanical and AutoCAD you have AutoCAD installed twice.

AutoCAD Mechanical and/or AutoCAD Electrical run on top of a vanilla AutoCAD using a different profile to load a different set of tools.  A separate install of AutoCAD (vanilla) installs another AutoCAD (if that make sense).  Check the file  directories/folders.

[cbenner]

I don't recall the exact message, but as I was installing I saw something like: If you want Autocad as well as Mechanical and Electrical... go here and download it.  If it's already loaded, why would they even include that?

AH!  here is the thread in which I asked about it....

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Installation-Licensing/PDS-2014-Acad-Install/m-p/3875546#U3875546

[JDMather]

---

@cbenner wrote:

  If it's already loaded, why would they even include that?

---

I think because some locations might purchase multiple licenses of vanilla and one or two network license of a vertical.
Anyone would have access to the vertical license, but only one at at time as needed.

I suspect as enough people become confused looking for vanilla AutoCAD, not realizing that they already have it in Mechanical or Electrical, Autodesk will finally place the vanilla AutoCAD download to alleviate the confusion.

I suspect that the VARs should be helping their customers on this issue.

[SeanFarr]

This is insane, haha, so what your saying is, people who have both mechanical and electrical installed, probably didnt know that vanilla autocad is installed with them, installed vanilla autocad because there is a separate installer for it, and could possibly have 3 instances of AutoCAD vanilla????

Why? haha,

why wouldn't Autodesk, include vanilla autocad in the suite installers, (get rid of the separate electrical and mechanical options) and give the option to include the electrical or mechanical add-ons??

[rdyson]

If you install from the suite, you only have one instance of Acad installed. (I just confirmed this)

If you install a separate copy of vanilla, you would have to install to a different drive / folder, otherwise it would overwright the Mech/Elect installation. Don't know why  anyone would do that and what it might do the the Mech/Elect profiles.

[Ray_Feiler]

The Suite installer just doesn't create a shortcut for Vanilla on your desktop. It does create one in the start menu so you can copy it from there to your desktop. Hope that helps.

[SeanFarr]

Well, I installed the separate installer of AutoCAD by downloading a trial version and using my serial.

My reseller had no answer for why the separate installer wasn't available, but I think the major point is why doesn't my reseller know that if you have a suite with mechanical or electrical, then you do in fact get vanilla??

So judging my this screen shot? do i have multiple versions or are these just separate shortcuts to the same program?

I never migrated any templates or projects to 2014 yet so I am not worried about lost data.

[dgorsman]

Take a look at the shortcuts, specifically the EXE each is pointing to.  The vanilla AutoCAD is probably pointing to a separate ACAD.EXE than the Electrical, the difference being the Electrical one is slightly modified to be more Electrical friendly.  Used as plain AutoCAD with nothing too fancy most won't be able to tell the difference, unless they are trying to apply an SP or hotfix.

[SeanFarr]

AutoCAD 2014 - English - AutoCAD Electrical shorcut points to

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2014\UserDataCache\"

And the

AutoCAD 2014 - English shortcut points to

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2014\UserDataCache\"

So the shortcuts point to the same program?

[dgorsman]

That... doesn't sound right.  They should be pointing to an EXE.  Are you looking in the "Start in", or maybe where the actual shortcut (LNK file) is located?