I'm creating a network deployment. In the deployment path shown below, how do you specify a generic path? The browse button will only use the current user's profile. I'm looking to use %userprofile%\documents\Acade 2021\ but that generates an invalid path error.
You may be seeing this due to the particulars of what makes ACADE different from Vanilla ACAD. It relies on support files that run the range from .xls to .txt, which are constantly read from and written to, and are constantly changing as the data in a project changes.
I'm not sure if it's possible to do a true network deployment with ACADE. I've never tried it, but these forums are pretty full of posts asking how to set up ACADE for multiple users and none of the answers are 'network deployment'.
That said, there is a way to share files among ACADE users. There's some information in the Knowledge Base as well as in the Hitchhiker's Guide To AutoCAD Electrical, which is on HELP's home page. Essentially, it would look like this:
*Every machine gets its own local install of the software
*For each install, certain local folders will have to be renamed so that ACADE can't find them anymore
*Meanwhile, those same folders (with unaltered names) are copied to a server location
*Each install needs to have some changes made in OPTIONS regarding the search string paths - this can be done once, saved as a profile, and then imported to each install
*Now, when ACADE needs to search for one of its support files, it will skip over what's local and instead use what's on the server
The reason for renaming the local support files: ACAD (and hence, ACADE) will always use the first one it finds, and it will almost always find and use the local one first.
Other caveats:
*one user per project at a time...otherwise my edits could overwrite things you were doing, which would then be lost forever
*adding new symbols will require some extra steps so that everyone can access them and see them in the Icon Library
*often this presents poor or slow performance when remoting or working via VPN
Helpful links:
Thanks for the answer. I might have used the wrong term. By 'network deployment', I'm not talking about users referencing common files/folders on the network, just that the deployment is customized the same for all network users, as opposed to each user running their own setup.exe and being allowed to specify their own options. They don't have admin rights to install. The deployment is run silently, and then pushed by SCCM. So I just didn't want this one path to be pointing to my user profile for all users. I was hoping to use a system variable, like %userprofile%, to configure the path to the current user.
Well, aside from the links I provided, about the only suggestion I can think of is to cross-post this on the installation forums. If there's a way to use the generic path option your best bet at a solution is probably there.
But....in your reply, you said you don't want it pointing to your user profile for all users. That wasn't clear to me before. So I'm left to wonder, does it let you specify a network path? If so, then that might be your way out.
The data that you're defining a location for, in that screenshot that you posted, amounts to the symbol libraries and icon menus, the environment file, and some other things. These are all the things that you want to be shared among several users.
If it were me, I'd try it with the network path if it's allowed. But I can't really advise that you do it without knowing for sure. I'd check with the installation forums and fish around there for a minute just to see.
Thanks again for the tips. btw, your signature icon link is broken.
Oh yes, thanks. I knew about that feature, but but I've just done it the way I always have. I guess I figured it was the same as the way I've always done it. I'll check it out.
@rhesusminus wrote:
I don't remember completely, if this was a new feature for 2021 or 2022,
2021 isn't available. I marked this as solved, but I'll have to wait until I can support 2022. Thanks.
