AutoCAD 2019 showing "Student Version - Plot Stamp Detected"

[jeremy.simons]

We are having issues with the new AutoCAD 2019, some files are showing "Student Version - Plot Stamp Detected". This only shows when opening these files in AutoCAD 2019, previous versions (2017 & 2014) do not show this message. 

I did an update to AutoCAD 2019 to the latest version (P.61.0.0 AutoCAD 2019.0.1), this stopped the message in one file, however the message now appears in a different file. I have confirmed this is an issue on all machines and not just one.

The file was created in a full version of AutoCAD 2014, there has never been any student versions used at all.

john.vellek has embedded your image(s) for clarity

[tradcliffe]

Our company is having the same issues. Autodesk keeps just pushing it under the carpet saying all this crap about how "something" in the drawings once used a student version at some point in the history of the drawings.... could be an xref, or it could be something once used by a 3rd company and added to an xref... or it's embedded in a block... bla bla bla. When I talk to them, they act like this is a normal thing and I'm the only one having the issue in the whole world... AND they seem very unwilling to fix it. But I've used and customized Autocad at 3 different companies over the last 25 years. I know a few things, and THIS is not normal. It's bs pure and simple. Autodesk could fix it. They just refuse until enough of us stand up and tell them that we'll drop Autocad if this isn't fixed. We'll have no choice. Thanks for your post. I hope more people speak up !

[tradcliffe]

Contacting Autodesk was useless and an extream wast of time. They just don't get it ! We are consulting engineers who receive cad and dxf and converted Archicad and Revit stuff ALL the time. Any of these things could have a block or an object or something that is bogus. And they usually do. Apparently according to Autodesk, we have to go out of business because we can't stop at every single solitary drawing with an issue, email it to Autodesk and wait for them to fix it and send it back. But that is their solution. Pure crap... completely out of touch with reality. We have to find a better way of doing this !

[RobDraw]

So, what you are saying is that you are unwilling to make sure your files come from legitimate sources. You also think AutoDesk needs to do something about this. Do you want them to just give away licenses to everyone? Most places have processes in place to protect themselves from content that might have been created in educational software. Not doing so puts their business at risk of heavy fines for using this content for commercial purposes.

If you've been doing this that long, surely you've dealt with this in the past. It's not a new thing. The plot stamp went into hiatus for a while but the legalities did not. You can blame AutoDesk for inadequate vetting of files from external sources.

[tradcliffe]

No, not unwilling. It's just that there's no way at all to make sure everyone we get blocks and xrefs from is legitimate. There's no way to do this. It is impossible (as far as I know at this point). AND it's never been a problem before. Not in this way. Not by a long shot. Not in the way that it's been impossible to fix. We don't have days to track down every single block, etc. and figure out if it comes from a legitimate source. We've never had to do this before. I don't understand why this is all of a sudden our problem. We've always been legitimate but now we have to put up with this. Can't use 2019 throughout a whole project because sooner or later something will be illegitimate and injected into some file brought in during the course of drawing creation. Some people will not understand this problem. But WE have to bow to the requirements of all the other companies we do business with. We can't dictate how they create their drawings that they provide to us.

[RobDraw]

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@tradcliffe wrote:

No, not unwilling. It's just that there's no way at all to make sure everyone we get blocks and xrefs from is legitimate. There's no way to do this. It is impossible (as far as I know at this point). AND it's never been a problem before. Not in this way. Not by a long shot. Not in the way that it's been impossible to fix. We don't have days to track down every single block, etc. and figure out if it comes from a legitimate source. We've never had to do this before. I don't understand why this is all of a sudden our problem. We've always been legitimate but now we have to put up with this. Can't use 2019 throughout a whole project because sooner or later something will be illegitimate and injected into some file brought in during the course of drawing creation. Some people will not understand this problem. But WE have to bow to the requirements of all the other companies we do business with. We can't dictate how they create their drawings that they provide to us.

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You absolutely have 100% control over the files that can touch your project files. All that needs to be done is open any and all incoming files to check for the student "stamp". If anything has the educational stamp notify the source of the file and insist that they provide a file without it. That's how you prevent it. It's easy and companies, big and small, all over the world are doing it.

[tradcliffe]

Additional thought: Vetting (from you post) is a good word. It weighs on me now, wondering if there may be something I can do about this issue in tracking down any culprits. Thank you for helping to calm the situation. But this may ultimately still be an Autocad issue of sensitivity withing the plot stamp feature.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

We are having this same issue and we only use LT therefore we are unable to use the EdFinder plugin - is there another way to identify this?

[bianca.garibay]

Hello Team,

How do we remove the educational stamp on drawings that were created on a full license version. The user has many drawings. They are not sure where it comes from.

Thank You.

User: AutocCAD LT 2014

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> How do we remove the educational stamp on drawings that

>> were created on a full license version

The source of the problem is that at least parts of that drawing were created with an educ license. During AutoCAD version 2015 and 2018 the plot stamps did not show up, but the source of the problem (parts were created with a free none commercial version of AutoCAD) stays the same.

Please be careful: removing the plotstamp would be a violation of the education license regulations as stated also in (the lower part of) that  >>>AKN article<<<.

- alfred -

[pendean]

Did you all just buy new PCs and install LT2014 new? Then you forgot something: Install the SP1 update for LT2014 and the EDU will stop displaying (but it will still be there). Then you can pretend they do not exist all over again.

[cadffm]

But then with 2014SP1 all other people have this problem continuous. You, if you upgrade to 2019 or newer too.

EDU files are not for commercial work.

For 2019 commercial license users, can use that file only as xref without displaying the stamp.

Think about all given informations what you want to do with your data now.

[tradcliffe]

Since my last few postings on this issue, it has become apparent that the problem is not that someone is using a student version anywhere. The problem seams to stem from the use of Acad 2014. Even though it has SP1 installed, it will still cause 2019 to think it's been saved by a student version. I think Autodesk just needs to check out the 2019 software and find the offending code in a decompiled EXE file. I'm sure they could figure it out if they are smart enough to write this complex software in the first place. They just need to be convinced that this actually IS a thing and that we are all not just a bunch of whiny lunatics.

Good luck. In the mean time the work around seams to be to save your drawings first in a newer version of Cad. Even saving down to 2014 will work fine. It seams to be that just the act of opening the dwg's in 2016 or better is what it really takes.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> The problem seams to stem from the use of Acad 2014. Even

>> though it has SP1 installed it will still cause 2019 to think it's

>> been saved by a student version.

Only if that 2014 version was an education license that created this drawing or that used parts of an education versions for this dwg-file.

- alfred -

[tradcliffe · Accepted solution]

That is not the case in this office. No student versions exist here. Don't know what to tell you. This does happen and it is just as simple and plain as I stated. No student versions used. Only 2014 with service pack 1. And it appears also to be sporadic of a problem. We're working through it, but it is weird.

[pendean]

2014's SP1 update simply "hides" the plotstamp from appearing: much like AutoCAd 2015-16-17-18 have done by default.
Hide = not show, it does not mean "remove".

So the stamp was always there, it was simply masked from appearing.

AutoCAD2019 started un-hiding it by design from Autodesk.
UnHide = show.

You seem to not be aware of this reality: now you do.

[tradcliffe]

Understood. Why does opening it in 2016, saving and exiting seem to eliminate the stamp all together?

Also, if that function went away we would be forced to abandon Acad all together since in spite of the fact that we are legal with no student versions used, we still get the stamp.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> That is not the case in this office. No student versions exist here.

Could be, even if you don't have educ licenses in the office the plot stamp is shown whenever you import something from a dwg-file that has parts from an educ license.

- alfred -

[cadffm]

So much  informations here, some answers specially for you and you don't undestand the issue untill now?

Only "bla,bla" over month? ( !scnr !)

>" Why does opening it in 2016, saving and exiting seem to eliminate the stamp all together?"

Because of the same reason why 2014 display the stamp
Because of the same reason why 2014SP1 hide the stamp
Because of the same reason why 2015-2018 hide the stamp
Because of the same reason why 2019+  display the education information
wenn you open a education flagged file.

AS DESIGNED by AutoDesk.

And just now comes the point: If you worked all the years only with 2014SP1 (and not or just for looking 2015-2018 ),

only then the problem is forced by autodesk and the company have to help.

With SP1 the take your possibility to check if the file or part of them was made by an education version.

 Edited by
Discussion_Admin

[cadffm]

@tradcliffe

Alfreds last answer:

>> That is not the case in this office. No student versions exist here.

Could be, even if you don't have educ licenses in the office the plot stamp is shown whenever you import something from a dwg-file that has parts from an educ license.

Was pointent to your work in in Versions before 2015 only, today in 2019 is the flag handling differently to the old one.

But all theses things you can also read in this case, where are you since weeks too.

[Discussion_Admin]

Please see post #2 for the official answer to this question.

I am closing this post to additional comments.

Thanks
Discussion_Admin