Without A Net

A Mountain (Lion) of Service Packs

Autodesk just released three service packs for the Mac versions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. In addition to resolving issues reported by the Customer Error Reporting (CER) utility and other general problems identified since the previous versions were made available, these service packs add support for OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion).

AutoCAD 2013 Service Pack 1 (Mac)
AutoCAD LT 2013 Service Pack 1 (Mac)
AutoCAD 2012 for Mac Service Pack 3

Playing in the Sandbox

New Apple guidelines require that software packages installed on OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) meet certain security standards. These restrictions mean that you may be unable to do a fresh install or re-install of your existing AutoCAD for Mac products on OS X 10.8. In that case, depending on your product, you should either download the full version of AutoCAD 2012 for Mac or download the trial Mac versions of AutoCAD 2013 or AutoCAD LT 2013. These downloads have been updated to include the latest service packs and conform with new Apple security requirements.

Note: The service pack for AutoCAD LT 2013 is not for the AutoCAD LT 2013 purchased from the Mac App Store. That version will receive the new updates directly from the Mac App Store when it becomes available.

The Return of SP1 for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2013

Almost three weeks ago Autodesk released Service Pack 1 for AutoCAD 2013 and AutoCAD LT 2013. Within a couple days of its release the service packs were removed from autodesk.com while the AutoCAD team worked on resolving a newly-discovered fatal crashing error.

The service packs have been re-released (now as Service Pack 1.1) and the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of new update can be found at the following links:

AutoCAD 2013 Service Pack 1.1
AutoCAD LT 2013 Service Pack 1.1

This service pack is only for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT (with or without SP1) and cannot be applied to vertical products that are based on AutoCAD 2013. If you managed to download and apply SP1 before it was removed, you can just apply SP1.1 on top of it. Uninstall of SP1 is not necessary or required.

Before installing Service Pack 1, I strongly recommend you review the associated readme file for installation instructions and details about the primary issues that are resolved by the service pack.

Service Pack 1 for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2013

Autodesk has released Service Pack 1 for AutoCAD 2013 and AutoCAD LT 2013. 32-bit and 64-bit versions of this update can be found at the following links:

AutoCAD 2013 Service Pack 1
AutoCAD LT 2013 Service Pack 1

This update is only for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT and cannot be applied to vertical products that are based on AutoCAD 2013.

Before installing Service Pack 1, I strongly recommend you review the associated readme file for installation instructions and details about the primary issues that are resolved by the service pack.

This service pack introduces new system variables for managing malware issues in AutoCAD. Details can be found in the readme file and in the technical solution, AutoLISP and VBA Security Controls in AutoCAD 2013 SP1.

SP2 for ACA and MEP now available

Service Pack 2 for both AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP are now available. Please see below for links:

AutoCAD Architecture: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=19684160&linkID=9240658

AutoCAD MEP: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=19684112&linkID=9240938

Hotfix for Autodesk 360 Sync errors

A new hotfix is now available that addresses persistent Autodesk 360 Sync errors in the system tray.

The hotfix can be downloaded from here:

Hotfix - Persistent Autodesk Sync error in the system tray
 

 

Updated readme files for AutoCAD Service Pack 2

On Monday, Autodesk released the new service pack for AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT 2012. Many of you have since requested more information about what issues were actually addressed by the service pack as these details were not included in the SP2 readme file. You have been heard and the readme files have been updated to include more information about what issues are fixed by the service pack.

Re-download the updated readme files at the following links:

AutoCAD 2012 Service Pack 2
AutoCAD LT 2012 Service Pack 2

AutoCAD 2012 Service Pack 2

A new service pack for AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT 2012 is now available at the following links:

AutoCAD 2012 Service Pack 2
AutoCAD LT 2012 Service Pack 2

Consult the readme file for installation instructions and be sure to download and install the correct update for your operating system (32-bit or 64-bit).

Performance issues in AutoCAD when Autodesk Showcase 2013 is running at the same time

Some users have experienced performance degradation in AutoCAD and other Autodesk products when running them side by side with Autodesk Showcase 2013.

This issue has been resolved in Service Pack 1 for Autodesk Showcase 2013 which can be downloaded from here:

Autodesk Showcase 2013 Service Pack 1

AutoCAD 2012 for Mac - Service Pack 2

Service Pack 2 for AutoCAD® 2012 for Mac® is now available for download at the following link:

AutoCAD 2012 for Mac Service Pack 2

This update resolves compatibility issues that have been reported while using the software on the latest versions of Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.8) and Mac OS X Lion. It also resolves problems reported by the Customer Error Reporting (CER) utility and other general problems identified after AutoCAD 2012 Service Pack 1 was made available.

General changes and improvements have been made to the following features:

Array

• Associative arrays now correctly round-trip between the Windows and Mac OS releases.
• The program is no longer unstable when attaching an xref to an associative array.

Attributes

• The Attribute visor now displays correctly after being launched two or more times.

Blocks

• The program is no longer unstable when inserting blocks with multiple attributes.

Customization

• The program is no longer unstable after using the Customize dialog box.

Dimensions

• The program is no longer unstable when modifying a dimension that has a cyclic dependency.

Document Window

• The program is no longer unstable when switching between open drawings.

Dynamic Input/Input

• The program is no longer unstable when using dynamic input.
• The program is no longer unstable after enter a value at the Command prompt.

External References

• The program is no longer unstable after clicking a missing xref in the Reference Manager.

Hatch

• The program is no longer unstable after creating a hatch object with the Hatch and Gradient dialog box.

Install

• Installer now displays the correct message when the latest service pack is already installed.

Layers

• The program is no longer unstable after renaming a layer.
• The program is no longer unstable after setting a layer current.
• The program is no longer unstable when updating layer information while switching drawings.
• The program is no longer unstable when sorting layers in the Layers palette.

Layouts

• The program is no longer unstable when switching between model and paper space from the status bar.
• The program is no longer unstable after creating a new layout.

Multileader

• The Multileader visor no longer remains displayed after being shown multiple times.

Open/Save

• The program is no longer unstable when opening a drawing file.
• The program is no longer unstable after opening an invalid file.
• Double-clicking a drawing file in Finder now correctly opens the program and drawing file.

Options

• When support file search paths are missing, the dialog box to select a path now displays correctly.

Other

• Several general situations that caused the program to be unstable have been addressed.
• The program is no longer unstable when spell checking annotation in a drawing.

Plot

• The program is no longer unstable after clearing the DPI value in the 3D Viewports section of the Page Setup dialog box.
• The program is no longer unstable after clearing the custom scale values in the Scale section of the Plot dialog box.
• The program is no longer unstable when using a comma as a decimal separator for numbers.
• Plots are now correctly centered when both Fit to Page and Center on Page are checked.
• When resaving a named plot style (STB) file, the file no longer becomes corrupt.
• Object's plot style value can now be changed with the Properties Inspector when using named plot styles.
• Plot styles now work correctly with AutoCAD WS.

Spline

• The program is no longer unstable after selecting a spline object that was the result of joining more than one spline together.

Startup

• On Mac OS X Lion, the program now launches correctly after a crash.
• The program now checks for the required folder and file level permissions. If the permissions are incorrect, you can open a Knowledge Base article to help correct the problem.

Text Styles

• Quickly closing the Text Style dialog box no longer causes the program to become unstable.
• Fixed issues related to text fonts.

Undo/Redo

• Lineweight is no longer automatically turned off when doing an undo with zoom.

Zoom/Pan/Orbit

• The program is no longer unstable when zooming, panning, or orbiting.

As always, check out the accompanying Readme PDF for more details and installation instructions.

Uninstall Tool for AutoCAD Design Suite 2013

Last week Autodesk released a tool specifically for uninstalling AutoCAD Design Suite 2013 and any products and plug-ins that can be installed as part of those suites.

How to perform an automated uninstallation of the AutoCAD Design Suite 2013 family of products

Note: Notice that for 2013 these are now AutoCAD Design Suites and no longer Autodesk Design Suites.

Although limited to uninstalling only the 2013 version and only the AutoCAD Design Suites, the tool provides a nice one-stop-shopping for your AutoCAD Design Suite 2013 uninstall needs.

The tool gives you the option to uninstall the following programs and plug-ins (if found):

• AutoCAD 2013
• Autodesk Raster Design 2013
• Autodesk Alias 2013
• FARO LS
• Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2013
• Autodesk Alias 2013 License
• Autodesk Backburner 2013
• Autodesk Composite 2013
• Autodesk Revit Interoperability for 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design 2013
• Autodesk Essential Skills Movies for 3ds Max Design 2013
• Autodesk Showcase 2013
• Autodesk SketchBook Designer Plugin for AutoCAD 2013
• Autodesk DirectConnect 2013
• Autodesk SketchBook Designer 2013
• Autodesk Mudbox 2013
• Autodesk Design Review 2013
• Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013
• Autodesk Inventor Fusion Plugin for AutoCAD 2013
• Autodesk Workflows - AutoCAD Design Suite 2013
• Autodesk Material Library 2013
• Autodesk Material Library Base Resolution Image Library 2013
• Autodesk Material Low Resolution Image Library
• Autodesk Material Library Medium Resolution Image Library 2013
• Autodesk Content Service
• Autodesk CAD Manager Tools
• Autodesk Network License Manager
• Autodesk Cloud Sync

The uninstall tool will also remove folders and registry keys related to the uninstalled products and plug-ins.

Be sure and read all the notes on the download page before using.