AutoCAD Architecture 2018 - Content Browser is Blank

[David_W_Koch]

I have an issue with Content Browser for AutoCAD Architecture 2018 on my home computer. I also have AutoCAD Architecture 2016 and 2017 installed on this computer, and Content Browser for those versions works normally.

Computer Specifications:
Dell XPS 8920
Intel Core i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20 GHz
48.0 GB installed RAM
64-bit operating system
Windows 10 Pro
Version 1803
Installed on 5/14/2018
OS Build 17134.112

I am not able to launch Content Browser in any of the three versions by double clicking on the AecCB.exe file in File Explorer. Perhaps that is a Windows 10 thing, or perhaps it has never worked that way. When using the shortcut on the Start menu or the ribbon tool in the program, the 2016 and 2017 versions open Content Browser and display the loaded catalogs, as expected. For the 2018 version, I get this error dialog, stating: "Cannot find 'file:///html/CatView.htm'. Make sure the path or Internet address is correct."

CatView.htm exists in C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2018\HTML, as it does for the 2016 and 2017 versions (substituting 2016 or 2017 for 2018 in the previously listed path, of course).

After dismissing the Web Browser warning dialog by selecting OK, the Content Browser window opens, but, excepting the title bar, it is completely blank.

 
If I launch Content Browser from within the program using a ribbon tool, closing the blank window is the end of it. If I launch it from the Start Menu shortcut, I get another warning dialog, stating that adui22res.dll is not found. Selecting OK in that dialog is the end of it.

adui22res.dll exists in C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2018\en-US. (adui21res.dll exists in the parallel folder for 2017 and adui20res.dll exists for 2016.)

I am not certain if Content Browser for 2018 has ever worked on this computer, which is nearly one year old now. I do not use Content Browser all that often at home, and only recently noticed that it was coming up blank. (Perhaps it worked before the 1803 Windows update? I am not certain.) Initially, I also had AutoCAD MEP 2018 installed on this computer. (AutoCAD MEP 2016 and 2017 remain installed on it, with no adverse effect on Content Browser in those versions.) I have uninstalled AutoCAD MEP 2018 and AutoCAD Architecture 2018 once, then reinstalled just AutoCAD Architecture 2018 with no improvement. I uninstalled AutoCAD Architecture 2018 a second time, carefully following the clean uninstallation instructions, and then reinstalled just AutoCAD Architecture 2018 with no change to the behavior of Content Browser for 2018. I did have a beta version of AutoCAD Architecture 2019 installed on this computer, but unistalled that prior to noticing that Content Browser did not work in 2018. All current updates, for both AutoCAD and AutoCAD Architecture, are installed (Product Version 8.0.73.0 AutoCAD Architecture 2018.0.3 Built on O.161.0.0 AutoCAD 2018.1.2 Update).

Googling for blank Content Browser with the CatView.htm error message resulted in just one hit with that error message, for Civil 3D 2015.
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/civil-3d-forum/content-browser-empty/td-p/5090728
One suggestion there was that the issue was due to having AutoCAD 2015 and Civil 3D 2015 installed side-by-side. Curiously, on this machine I have AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD 2017 installed side-by-side with AutoCAD Architecture 2016 and AutoCAD Architecture 2017, and those versions work. I do not have AutoCAD 2018 installed on this machine, just AutoCAD Architecture 2018.

Googling for blank Content Browser with ghe adui22res.dll not found message only had one hit mentioning adui22res.dll, but that forum thread had nothing to do with AutoCAD Architure's Content Browser.
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/installation-licensing/autocad-not-responding-adui-22res-dll-error/td...
Deleting all deletable contents in the %TEMP% did not make a difference.

Any suggestions as to what I can to to resolve this are welcome. My next step, barring any better suggestions, would be to do another clean uninstall, and re-download the installation files rather than using the same ones that seem to keep resulting in a blank Content Browser, on the hope that the issue is some sort of corruption in the installation files that I currently have.  I would like to avoid that, if possible.  If that should fail, I may try to install AutoCAD Architecture 2019, to see if that somehow helps (on the assumption that having the beta for 2019 installed and removed somehow messed with a file that a clean uninstall of just one program does not clear).

[Victoria.Studley]

Hi @David_W_Koch,

It sounds like you've put quite a bit of troubleshooting effort into this one. I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue.

While I haven't seen either of those errors, or precisely this issue, Content Browser problems tend to stem from a couple of the things:

• Multiple versions of ACA and/or MEP installed on the same machine (especially if installed/uninstalled/reinstalled out of order).
• Antivirus or registry cleaner interference.
• Windows 10 update issues (this is a more recent development, but I see you're on Version 1803, Build 17134, which we've seen some other conflicts with).

Is it possible for you to roll back your latest Windows 10 updates, or have you passed the window for that?

If you've passed the window, although it's time-consuming, I'd recommend a clean uninstall/reinstall of all Autodesk products on the machine, making sure to use the Microsoft FixIt tool along the way. I might also recommend opening a support request directly with us here in Technical Support, and we'll be happy to help you with the clean uninstall/reinstall process, to ensure we don't miss anything.

If one or more of these posts helped answer your question, please click Accept Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.

[David_W_Koch]

Thanks for the response.  I believe the rollback window has closed; even if it has not, eventually I will be forced to update.

As much as I would like to avoid reinstalling everything, I will probably do that eventually.  The main drive on that computer is a solid-state drive, but it is only 256 GB.  While that is probably more than enough for most home computer uses, installing multiple versions of AutoCAD and Revit has taken up most of the available space (still have not installed 2019 products).  I have a much larger secondary hard drive, and reinstalling would give me the opportunity to move all of the content files to that drive, freeing up C: drive space for just programs.  I probably should bite the bullet and figure out how to get Windows to put all of the "My" folders there as well.

It may be a while before I get enough free time to undertake that task, but I will report back once I do (good or bad).

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

@Victoria.Studley:

OK, it has now officially "been a while" and I tried uninstalling and reinstalling ACA 2018 one more time (also installing AMEP 2018 this time), from an new download of the installation files and still got the same error messages and same blank Content Browser.

I really did not feel like uninstalling all Autodesk products tonight, and had a reason to want to install ACA 2019.  It occurred to me that I did install the Beta 1 version of 2019 at one point, and then uninstalled it.  That may have messed with some shared file that affected Content Browser for 2018 but left 2017 and 2016 unscathed.  After installing ACA 2019 tonight, and verifying that the Content Browser in 2019 was working, I closed 2019 and opened 2018 and, lo and behold, it worked.  So I guess installing and uninstalling the Beta did mess with something that a repair/reinstall/clean uninstall/reinstall of 2018 could not fix.

I can go to sleep now, happy.

[Victoria.Studley]

Hi @David_W_Koch,

Thank you for following up to confirm the solution. Installing the beta comes with the slight risk of issues like this, but let's make sure @Sridhar-Autodesk is aware of it.

[Sridhar-Autodesk]

@Victoria.Studley and @David_W_Koch;

Thanks for the update on side by side issue with Beta.  As there are some risks involved installing Beta with production versions, we suggest users not to deploy Beta with other released versions.

Thanks,

[David_W_Koch]

@Sridhar-Autodesk

Understood, and I knew the risks going into it.  That is why I do not install betas on my work computer, just my home computer.  Back when there were more things to test in AutoCAD Architecture betas, I used to back up the C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared folder prior to installing a beta, and then restore the backup after uninstalling it.  That seemed to work most times (maybe requiring a repair install on the most recent version on occasion).  I guess I got lazy this time.