Education / Lab install woes

[Anonymous]

Some background - we have Fusion running in a school computer lab, Windows 7, installed for all users OK.  However, whenever an update is released, it looks like that has to be installed by an administrator account?  I didn't want to have to have our local tech download and run a new installer every few weeks - I thought that it would update in the background, whenever the application is launched.  That behavior, for a single-user install, is what I was expecting, and one of the reasons I pushed for us to switch to Fusion.

 Is there something I am missing, to get automated updates?

 We just figured out the version problem, because when the software was installed a few months ago, it worked fine, but then last week stopped allowing saves and syncing - the failure mode was confusing.  It was only through some deep digging in the forums that I found someone who described the same failure behavior.  A clearer dialog / warning box would have been very helpful.

If there isn't a way to have the multi-user installation auto-update, would the next best solution be to switch to something like Inventor?  We really need the program to keep working once it's installed, as the only person with install privileges is the IT person.

Thanks for any help / suggestions,

Gary Davis

High school teacher

[Beyondforce]

Hi @Anonymous,

Can you install other software on the pc? Or is it only Fusion 360 you have a problem with?

Ben.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, we don't have any admin privileges - we can't install any other programs.  The technician did the 'multi-user' install, and I thought that it would keep itself updated, like the individual user install does on my personal computer.  Therein lies the problem.  It's fine to request an annual update for a program, but having to do a monthly/every 6-8 weeks update is just not a viable solution in our environment.

Hope that helps clarify,

Gary

[Beyondforce]

Okay, I figured you will say that.

Your IT guy should configure F360 (FusionLauncher.exe) to run as administrator. He can find the EXE file by Right click on the shortcut, Properties and Open File location.

He should know how to do that, and if he doesn't, please let me know.

This way, Fusion 360 will have the rights to update itself 😉

Cheers / Ben
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you find this reply helpful ? If so please use the Accept as Solution or Kudos button below.

Check out my YouTube channel: Fusion 360: Newbies+

[Anonymous]

Hi,

If the IT guys ran the install using the Fusion 360 Admin Install the auto-updates are intentionally not supported. This is mainly because most lab admins want control over when updates happen as they use images to install operating systems and applications to lab systems.

To update an existing Fusion admin install, login as the administrator for the system, download the latest Fusion 360 Admin Install and run it. 

Hope this helps.

Regards,

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestion - I have a work order in, and will see if that fixes the problem.  Is that direction somewhere in the multi-user install instructions? If not, I'd definitely suggest adding it (if someone involved in writing those directions is reading this).

[Beyondforce]

I don't think so, but this question is for the Fusion team!
I know how to do this, because I used to work as a system administrator 🙂
Btw, If it doesn't work by adding the rights to the EXE file, then he should add the rights to the F360 Service. The IT guy knows what I'm talking about.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply- if this was a company with real IT services, that would absolutely make sense.  But I suspect that many public schools, like us, don't have the kind of IT support that makes that really feasible - we need something that just keeps working once it's installed.  I LOVE the sharing / collaboration features that are baked into Fusion, and don't want to have to give that up. 

I'm hoping that some of the other suggestions here will allow us to keep using Fusion- it has gotten a lot of my students really excited to learn CAD modelling, especially ones who had prior experience with SketchUp - they appreciate the power of Fusion, and feel like it is about as easy to use as SketchUp.

Thanks again,

Gary

[Beyondforce]

I can only hope the IT guy can help you. I can't see other way for a program to overwrite the computer security.