Download and Install AEC Collection previous version support.

[mdhutchinson]

From your Account / Management page, from AEC Collection, you can download previous version media, however, you can not install them because Autodesk is not giving you Serial numbers and product keys.

I sense this move Maintenance to Subscription on Autodesk's part has not been the smoothest... is this another issue they've created?  

Autodesk... will this and other issues be fixed come crunch time?

[Darin.Green]

@mdhutchinson

There's no longer a need for serial numbers for each version... That's actually a good thing. Not having to remember each serial number per version is great!

All you need to do is use the 2018 serial number for all versions just to get the media installed. Once installed, the serial number no longer plays a part because you have network licenses. The application launches and seek a license from the server. The server cascades through the license file and returns the lowest possible license, then the application continue to fully open if a license is available.

[mdhutchinson]

FYI: I am creating a deployment... Just to be clear... this has never changed in the past... install right from the media, or create a deployment typically it is the same process in regards to product keys.  Now I know a lot is changing, and I am trying to make the best of it - so bar with me for a bit.

At any rate ...why in the world does it prompt for a product key if it is not needed?... certainly the serial numbers for all software in the collection is the same... the product keys, it goes without saying are indeed different!  

When I put in the Serial Number for the Collection... the deployment creation process accepts it just fine. But the NEXT button is not enabled until a correct Product Key is entered. If I use the key for the 2018 version, it displays a red X.

I get if you do Install Now... Autodesk may enter this info automatically, but I've always created a deployment. I've hunted for Product Keys in the past... I guess I have to in this case as well... but so far I've come up dry.

So what do you have to say now?

[mdhutchinson]

FYI: I found the correct Product Key that I needed... I got it from 'our other' AEC Collection license that happens to be a Single-User (Named-User) one-month subscription.  I built a deployment for that one... and installed it from the deployment as well... Product Keys for 2017 and 2016 as well as 2018 were all available on our Account Management page.

I came out ok in this case because I found the necessary info on my own.

[Darin.Green]

@mdhutchinson

You're using the wrong product key change the letter to I as you're installing 2017 version. The product key should be 235I1

[mdhutchinson]

???

using the wrong product key!  Obviously... since I did not have a key from Autodesk and was left to hunt it up on my own.  But, as you said, Serial Numbers (and Product Keys) are not needed as you indicated.

... see my previous post... our posts were submitted apparently at the same time.

[Darin.Green · Accepted solution]

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@mdhutchinson wrote:

FYI: I am creating a deployment... Just to be clear... this has never changed in the past... install right from the media, or create a deployment typically it is the same process in regards to product keys.  Now I know a lot is changing, and I am trying to make the best of it - so bar with me for a bit.

At any rate ...why in the world does it prompt for a product key if it is not needed?... certainly the serial numbers for all software in the collection is the same... the product keys, it goes without saying are indeed different!  

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Who said the product key isn't needed? The product keys are required and is used for requesting licenses through network and standalone versions of the software. 

Network licensing is different than Standalone licensing in regards to what's needed to license the software (from a Client side)... That mean you could enter all 1's for the serial number, but you'll still need to enter the correct product key, then when the application is launched it will find the first available license from the license file on the server. That mean the serial number used to install the software doesn't play any part except to install (Network versions only). Standalone requires both to be correct in order to obtain a license.

In regards to Product keys for use with collection licensing... You have to use the corresponding key to the product in which you're installing (i.e. AutoCAD 2018 would have 001J1). If you need help finding them use the following link in the future:

Lookup Product Key

[mdhutchinson]

???

Sorry, my original post apparently was not clear.  When you said the Serial Number was not needed, I thought you indicated in the same breath (as I did in my original post) that product key's were also not needed. I did already understood that Serial Numbers were the same for each release/year.

(But you do need to enter the correct serial number. All 1's will not work at all, you'll get a red X every time.)

At any rate... thanks for the link... 

(that being said, Autodesk should change their Subscription Account Product Management page to include the correct Product Keys for each product, or at the least to include a link to look them up on the page rather than forcing the user to hunt for them. I the case of Deployment and or Installation without a Deployment, both the serial number and correct keys are needed as you said)  

[Darin.Green]

@mdhutchinson

1. All 1's does not fail... Where are you getting that information?
   • The reason for this is so you don't need a deployment config file for each serial number...
   • 
2. You're welcome for the links. However, the product keys are in your Autodesk Account... Here's a re-post of your image:

[Darin.Green]

@mdhutchinson

I'm here to help, so if you need assistance with anything, feel free to reach out to me via PM.

[mdhutchinson]

I stand corrected on the 1's...   (this was never the case under the Suites as I am certain you know)

BUT - OH MY GOSH!   Look at my original post Darin... at that point in time all I had to go on was our Multi-User AEC Collection which was the subject of my inquiry - serial number and product key was there only for 2018 version. For 2017 or 2016 they were absent.

The re-posting you included was from our Single-User (NAMED-USER) AEC Collection. Serial Number (same for each version) and Product Keys for all three versions were there to be had. The reason I posted THAT image was to show were I finally found the Product Keys that I needed to create the deployment for our Multi-User AEC Collection for 2017. 

Don't get me started on why we have both a single-user (NAMED-USER) and a multi-user FlexLM Licensed AEC Collections.

At any rate... this exercise was... uh,... fun!

[jhamilton]

What about a deployment for the entire collection rather than a deployment for each individual software?

[Mark.Lancaster]

@jhamilton

There's no single download for Collection.  Find the closes suite or suites and make a deployment using @Darin.Green information.