Desktop Connector - how long before this works properly

[CEdwardsUN5MX]

We're forced to use desktop connector now, and cannot bring in files directly from the construction cloud for too many formats.

Yet the software repeatedly crashes. Sometimes I have not even started Revit yet in the morning, and it is crashing as it is one of the startup programs.

Reinstalling is a waste of time, the old maxim of 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results' is spot on with this buggy software (do we expect anything else from Autode$k? Corporate Motto: Gimme the ca$h)

I have to ask Autodesk directly: having forced us to use something, can you at least make it work properly, so I'm not sending (or dealing with) multiple error reports per day for the usual limited Beta tested release that you have released to the wild before it is ready?

[Tom_Kunsman]

Make sure to keep your Desktop connector up to date. I have not had any issues with the Connector in nearly two years now. 

Which formats are you having issues with?

https://help.autodesk.com/view/CONNECT/ENU/?guid=GUID-03D59AAD-65B0-45E3-84F2-A12AAA5BB267

[CEdwardsUN5MX]

It's as up to date as it can be, which is the current release 16.7.1.2164..

That was the first thing I tried, when it was repeatedly crashing on my a few weeks ago.

It's not the solution, nor is updating my PC (or any number of other things) in some futile quest to rule everything else out first....which no doubt is what Autodesk would suggest.

[RSomppi]

Many users are utilizing the connector on a daily basis without the issues that you are attributing to it. If you are trying to use it like any other cloud storage drive, you may be doing it wrong. You may want to look into proper workflows.

[CEdwardsUN5MX]

'You may want to look into proper workflows.'

Ah yes, the need for a 'proper workflow'.

Which can mean pretty much absolutely anything you want it to mean.

The Autodesk equivalent of the True Scotsman fallacy...

[RSomppi]

I mean it exactly as I said it, as in, "Did you read the directions?"

Despite your doubts, there are proper and improper ways to use the connector. Using it like File Explorer use a very common mistake.

[HVAC-Novice]

"We're forced to use desktop connector now"

Who is "forcing" you to use desktop connector? 

And does it mean you have the Revit file on ACC, or what exactly? Is this a central model? 

We use Desktop connector for files on ACC. Yes, it has its issues syncing sometimes. Not recently, though. Overall ACC is really slow and clunky compared to other websites. 

I had tried having the Revit model I work on on ACC. Some days it worked, some days it didn't. I put it back on our network drive since that works every day.

[RSomppi]

All of our project models and links, .rvt and .dwg, are on the cloud without any such issues.

[curtisridenour]

We have been struggling with ACC and Desktop Connecter and the Issues Addin all week. The Revit models just keep crashing. We have made sure all our stuff is up to date. But for whatever reason, Autodesk Access will not let us know when the Desktop Connector needs updating. So we manually check it when things stop working.

[jonathan.horvatH4QTK]

We are seeing many issues with it also. The updates are frequent, which shows they are trying to fix it, but this really is not that hard. I would suggest they scrap it and start from the top. For now, we will have to devise our own in-house solutions to work around the broken component.

[HVAC-Novice]

I hope they fix it before they release it to paying customers..... 

I once tried to store the Revit model on ACC. The good news, 50% of the time it worked 100% of the time. Needless to say, that model went back to our company network drive in no time. At least that is available 99.9999% of the time. 

Everything on ACC is slow. Like a 1990's website with dial up modem. We use ACC for all construction and design management and the slowness is not acceptable in this day and age. They seriously need to improve infrastructure or their programming. Almost like a guy has the ACC server in his living room on a residential internet connection. Every other website in the World is fast. 

[CEdwardsUN5MX]

I have a decent internet connection at home, the test I just ran shows I am getting around 940Mbps download speed.

I think by contrast, I've had download speeds from the ACC website are only about 50Mbps, though I've done one just now and it is at around 150Mbps. Fewer users at this time of year?

Either way, it seems throttled.

Not an issue with small models, but we now regularly work with models that are multi-gigabyte for each model, and there are 5 or 6 of those. Opening them in Revit when I haven't done so in a while, and they need a decent update locally, takes 15-20 minutes, not helped by the multiple messages that Revit throws out, that require me to confirm to proceed [Rushforth Tools has a tool that is supposed to avoid that but it isn't working for me].

The connector is I guess, a workaround, where you can host files locally and it can update in the background, but like so much else, it needs improvement, and Autodesk themselves need to up their game.

[RDAOU]

@CEdwardsUN5MX 

The team engaged on the smallest project we are currently working on consists of 132 team members of inhouse architects and engineers, and external stakeholders/consultants. In our organization we have the 16.11.1.2320 running (a few also running 16.11.0.2314 on some remote sites) not to mention that we even have some consultants who are still running 16.7.0.XXXX and 15.8.0.XXXX. And this is the case on all running project. And we only host models on on ACC. Checking our logs, I can tell you for sure that, in the past 2 years at least, we have no registered issue/complain related to Desktop connector crashing or models crashing because of desktop connector (neither in out organization nor our consultants)

So the issue, as some of the guys told you here before, is not the connector. It resided within your organization. And from what you described,  I would say is

• definitly not workflows. Workflows do not crash applications on startup 
• for sure not connection related for sure considering that nowadays you can get a 50/25Mbps almost anywhere in the world and that is more than sufficient to use ACC and DC.
• less likely related to be a hardware upgrades because I have seen 10 years out of date computers running Revit 2022-2024 with DC and working on cloud models with no issues.

In my opinion it is more likely a network group policy or a local user policy on your machines, a windows messed up registry or a faulty installation/deployment. Even windows security updates can cause applications to crash. Autodesk products always come with lots of background running processes which can/may be blocked by either your company's running IT/Network policies or windows security causing those applications and/or even features of such applications not to run

The point is, complaining and blaming a software out of frustration never gets the problem solved. Contact your IT or Network administrator and ask them to check the problem out (most of them hate Autodesk products but who knows maybe they are cool enough to help you sort the issue out. Also consider putting in a Ticket with Autodesk Support; they can give you better insight than 99% of the users on this forum.

It will work out somehow one way or the other  🙂 

[HVAC-Novice]

At my office I have close to 1 Gbit internet speed up and down (limit of my hardware network card) and 20 ms latency. But the ACC website still takes 2-3 seconds with spinning wheel for every click. EVERY other website I use is extremely fast and instantaneous.

I have no idea how in 2024 they manage to make such a slow web application. It is like they rent server capacity for 1,000 users. But now they sold the product to 10,000 users, but never upgraded server capacity. 

There are many things I don't like about ACC, and some may be subjective. But speed is a very objective. In 2024, speed should not be something we have to discuss. 

[jonathan.horvatH4QTK]

Let's keep the answers productive, on these forums. Blaming end users won't make the software better. Anyway, give them some credit. You suppose thousands of people "hAs A bAd InTeRnEt" but only for this component? you are off topic. This is about the obviously broken Desktop Connector component, not imagination brainstorm session of ways that one might "use it wrong." 

@jonathan.horvatH4QTK- this post has been edited due to Community Rules & Etiquette violation.

[RDAOU]

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@jonathan.horvatH4QTK wrote:

Let's keep the answers productive, on these forums. Blaming end users won't make the software better. Anyway, give them some credit. You suppose thousands of people "hAs A bAd InTeRnEt" but only for this component? you are off topic. This is about the obviously broken Desktop Connector component, not imagination brainstorm session of ways that one might "use it wrong." 

@jonathan.horvatH4QTK- this post has been edited due to Community Rules & Etiquette violation.

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@jonathan.horvatH4QTK 

Normally, I would have refrained from replying, as I prefer to engage directly with the original poster. However, since your comment touches on the topic of productivity, I feel compelled to point out that your reply contributes very little in this instance. It neither addresses the main topic at hand nor engages with the person seeking assistance.

Furthermore, I did not accuse any user of misusing the application, nor did I assume that a large number of people have poor connections (it was actually the contrary!). These are misinterpretations or exaggerations on your part.

Lastly, you refer to the application as 'the Obviously Broken Desktop Connector.' If we're assessing objectivity here, who truly is being impartial in this discussion and the idea of problem solving?

[jonathan.horvatH4QTK]

Again, please stay on topic. This isn't the place for bickering. Reported. @RDAOU 

[CEdwardsUN5MX]

Thats the software equivalent of 'it's not me, it's you'. Lol.

Good to see someone doesn't have an issue, but that list of alternate 'problems' is a needle in a haystack, which might not be there.

The firm I work for has plenty of users, I know many have had this issue (I'm just a user myself). I haven't had it the past few months, but then I haven't been working on any projects intensively the past few months either. And Connector has been updated since then.

Anyway...taking on board what you've suggested (trying to be positive in the new year), next time it happens like I described in my original post, I'll do some digging around the event viewer, and see if I can find something that shows up a direct cause, and feed that back to Autodesk support directly, as you have suggested.

Not a solution...but it might start working towards one.

[RDAOU]

@CEdwardsUN5MX 

Some users not experiencing issues with DC does not negate the fact that others are. Autodesk products are certainly not free from issues—this is evident from the frequent patches and updates they release.

I was merely sharing insights I've gathered about this application over the years. I wasn't attempting to offer a solution and do agree with you as I personally don't have one for this issue. However, I believe that a solution will emerge through collaboration between Autodesk's support team and your IT team (or yourself if you have administrative privileges).

[CEdwardsUN5MX]

Unfortunately I don't have admin privileges (much to my annoyance).
And thanks for the insights.