Mac Install Location

[bback3C2RW]

Every other program is able to install itself into the main /Applications folder on macs.  Literally every one.

Why does Fusion360 install to /users/(username)/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/webdeploy/production/kjsdahgtfi832q47t659823465792384579, where absolutely no one will ever be able to find it?

Previous solutions were "install from the Mac App Store," but now that it's no longer an option, users are forced to create an alias (which ruins the workflow), but only if they know to do this before they close the program and remove it from the dock.

I really don't care why this is the way it is, I have other Autodesk programs that were able to install themselves to the proper location.  Every other program I've ever installed has also installed itself into the proper location.  This is a problem unique to Fusion360 that I have never had to deal with and shouldn't even be a problem to begin with.

Just fix it.

[chris9EL5J]

Still facing this issue. Today. 6 years after this post and your garbage install location hasn't been fixed.

Anyone who's ever used a Mac in the last 20+ years knows they expect an app to have a launch icon in the Applications folder. It's not rocket science.

Saying "just fix it" is actually more than fair when it's the default method of installation on macOS and you've done nothing to resolve it.

As a new customer who needs to use this on my macOS laptop and my Windows machine this is enough stupidity to make me consider a refund.

[chris9EL5J]

If it's that easy then make it install to the location that logically makes sense and where the user expects it to be instead of putting it on the customer to hunt it down.

[chris9EL5J]

For the record it took me 30 seconds to make a shortcut (alias on macOS) and drop it in the Applications folder. It should be even easier to do it programmatically.

As easy a solution as that was, it took finding this obscure post from 6 years ago via a Reddit post to know that's where you guys decided to install Fusion in order to be able to create the shortcut.

So just fix it is more than fair. Add one little step at the end of your install to drop a shortcut into the proper Applications path - which isn't where you install. The correct path is Macintosh HD/Applications.

[aet-srhs]

Actually, moving it to the /Applications folder does not fix it. When I try to launch it, it now freezes at initialization. The macbooks we use in our education lab (which we have seat licenses for every student) need Fusion in a place where it works for everyone logging in.

[chris9EL5J]

What I did was to leave it in the original path and create an alias (shortcut) to the launch app and placed that in the default Applications folder. This works fine because it still launches from the expected path and so long as the application name doesn’t change in the original (wrong) path, it will survive updates and even reinstalls.

It goes without saying how trivial this fix would be for Autodesk to implement.

[lance.carocci]

Education IT admins should have access to a global installer already. It's just not currently an option for the general audience.

[aet-srhs]

And this installer adds the app to a location that is available to all users? Thanks in advance.

[lance.carocci]

That's correct, it goes to system-level Applications instead of user-level Library.

[jeffjenkins1Y8BVV]

The Autodesk software development team have decided they aren't changing i no matter how many of us think it's a crazy idea.  This is for many reasons and could be one of the following or more than one:

1. The people who decided to do it this way have left and nobody is prepared to  change it because the don't understand what it may or may not affect. Alternatively the system architect(s) that decided on this approach haven't left and they are too stubborn to let people question their original ideas.

2. Funding - who pays for it?  If there isn't a client paying for it most teams won't justify doing it.

3. laziness - they just can't be bothered to make work for them selves.

4. The software base is out of hand and they are scared to change anything anymore. They've basically lost staff who knew useful things and no-one knows how it all works anymore.

5. They don't trust their continuous automated testing (which I assume they MUST have).

6. They are embarrassed about it but refuse to acknowledge that they were wrong and one or more of the above.

I've seen all of these during my corporate career

[jvlob]

That’s great news! Do you have an estimated release date for everyone? Looking forward to it—thanks!

[beananimal]

It is my opinion that the entire product suffers from systemic mismanagement and a maybe a bit of all of the above sprinkled in. Lance or somebody from AD above indicated that this is the least of their worries, as there are plenty of other long standing "fires" (their words) to put out. 

This was to evolve into their flagship package, but it has clearly become unmarketable to anything more than mom and pop shops and hobby users -- for good reason. I would venture that the only thing really keeping it afloat is that fact that the reasonable competitors don't have a native Mac product to compete -- and are happy to cede that to AD and this product.