Communication Center Tab

(Displays Only for AutoCAD 2007 and Earlier Releases)

Communication Center displays up-to-date product information, software updates, subscription announcements, product support announcements, and other product-related announcements. Products are updated through the Live Update feature, which notifies users when maintenance patches are available.

The Communication Center tab provides options for accessing Communication Center.

You can turn Live Update on or off, specify where to obtain product patches, and enable access to information channels.

Enable Communication Center

Provides users access to Communication Center from the status bar; they receive product updates, articles, and support announcements.

Disable Communication Center

Removes user access to Communication Center.

Live Update Configuration

Specifies whether Live Update is turned on. If you turn on Live Update, you choose whether patch lists are received from Autodesk servers or from your own network location.

If you want users to be notified of maintenance patches, you specify an Autodesk web server patch list or a local patch list. Depending on the product version that is being configured, a patch list is either a text file or XML file that specifies a list of patches available for installation on your computer.

For AutoCAD 2009-Based Products

When using the CAD Manager Control utility with AutoCAD 2009-based products, the patch list file is an XML file that does not require editing. When you select Receive Live Updates from Local Network, and then specify a local patch list location using the Browse for Folder dialog box, a file named patchlist.npl is automatically created in the patch list folder if an .npl file does not exist.

If you specify a patch list folder that contains more than one patch list, a message displays in the Patch Folder Status dialog box, prompting you to select a patch list.

If you select a patch list file with a .txt extension, a message displays in the Patch Folder Status dialog box indicating it is an invalid file format and prompts you to select an .npl file.

After a patch list location is selected, the Manage Patches function becomes available. The Autodesk Live Update server is checked for maintenance patches for the product that was selected when the CAD Manager Control utility was started.

If maintenance patches are found, the Communication Center Status dialog box indicates a connection is being made to the Autodesk server. After the patches are retrieved, they are listed in the Manage Patch Folder dialog box. If maintenance patches are not available, the Communication Center Status dialog box indicates this and prompts you to check at a later time.

Manage Patch Folder Dialog Box

The Manage Patch Folder dialog box is an interface for managing patches for AutoCAD 2009-based products. The title bar of the dialog box includes the name of the product that was selected when the CAD Manager Control utility was started. Maintenance patches that are retrieved from the Autodesk Live Update server are listed in the Manage Patches section where you can view details about each patch, download patches to a local patch folder, or remove patches from the list.

Patch List Location

Displays the name of the patch list file and the path where it is located on the local network.

Manage Patches

Lists the patches that were retrieved from the Autodesk Live Update server. The status icon to the right of each patch title indicates whether the patch is ready for downloading, has already been downloaded, or failed to download.

The Action Type column displays an action button for each patch. By clicking the Action Type button, you can choose whether to add the patch to be downloaded, to remove the patch from the patch folder, or to not take any action.

The Patch Title column displays the patch name as a link. Clicking the link displays information about the patch in the Details area.

The Status column displays a status icon to the right of each patch title. The status icon indicates whether the patch is ready for downloading, has already been downloaded, or failed to download.

Update Patch Folder

Starts the process of downloading the patches that have the action type set “To Be Downloaded to the Patch Folder.” During the download process, the button name is temporarily changed to Abort. Clicking the Abort button stops the download.

Details

Displays details about the selected patch. Details include the status of the patch (whether it has been downloaded, available for download, or failed to download), the title of the patch and a link to its Readme file, and the patch’s release date, file type, and size.

As each patch is downloaded, a status report is displayed in the Details area. For patches that cannot be downloaded, “Failed” displays next to the patch name. After the download process, a Patch Folder Status dialog box displays a message that the local patch folder has been updated. When the dialog box is closed, the Details area reverts to its original display, and the status icon is updated for each patch under Manage Patches.

For AutoCAD 2004- to AutoCAD 2006-based Products

When using the CAD Manager Control utility with older versions of the program, you need to create a patch list, which is a text file that specifies a list of patches available for installation on your computer.

The following table describes the values required in a patch list.

Local Patch List

You can use a local patch list to specify the patches you want Live Update to provide to users. The first step is to create a blank text (TXT) file to use as your patch list. Then, from the Autodesk website (http://www.autodesk.com/), you download a patch for distribution to users, and extract the PatchGUID and other patch information from the patch. After you extract the patch information, you paste it into your local patch list. You can use this process to paste information from multiple patches into your local patch list, and then use Communication Center to update users' computers with the patches listed in your local patch list.

If you decide to use a local patch list, you extract patch information by typing the name of the patch file at a DOS prompt, followed by:

• A command switch, /p (patch)
• The name of a text file to which to append the patch information (optional)

If you do not use the command switch after the name of the patch file, the patch may be applied immediately. The command switch prevents application of the patch until after you have completed your local patch list and configured users' computers with the CAD Manager Control utility. For example, to extract patch information to MyTextFile.txt, on the command line you would enter:

ProgramPatch.exe /p MyTextFile.txt

If you do not specify a file name after the command switch, a text file is created containing the patch information. After the patch information is extracted, you paste the information into your local patch list, update the PatchFileLocation value with the local location of the patch, and then configure users' computers to use Live Update with a local patch list.

Configure Information Channels

Enables or disables access to subscription announcements, product support information, articles, and other information.

When you turn on Enable Access to Information Channels, you choose whether Communication Center notifies users of product maintenance patches.

To turn on access to and configure Communication Center

1. In the CAD Manager Control Utility window, click the Communication Center tab.
2. If you want users to be notified when Live Update maintenance patches are available, select the Enable Communication Center option.
3. Under Live Update Configuration, make one of the following selections from the list:
   • Select Receive Live Updates from Autodesk if you want users to receive direct Live Update notification from Autodesk.
   • Select Receive Live Updates from Local Network if you want users to receive Live Update notifications from your own network location, and then, under Local Patch List Location, specify the location of your local patch list.
   • Select Disable Live Update if you do not want users to receive Live Update notifications.
4. Under Configure Information Channels, select Enable Access to Information Channels if you want users to have access to subscription information, and to product support and other information. Users can then select which channels they want to view. If you don't want users to have access to this information, select Disable Access to Information Channels.
5. Once you have selected the settings you want for Communication Center, you must select whether you want to save these settings for this computer only or to create a REG-format registry file that can be distributed to multiple computers. In the list at the bottom of the CAD Manager Control Utility window, select Modify System Settings to apply these settings to your computer, or select Create .REG Registry File to create a file that can be used to change the settings on other computers.
6. Click Apply. If you chose to create a registry file, you must specify a file name and location.
   NoteThe Apply button saves changes you make on any of the tabs in the CAD Manager Control utility.

To turn off access to Communication Center

1. In the CAD Manager Control Utility window, click the Communication Center tab.
2. If you don't want users to be notified when Live Update maintenance patches are available, select the Disable Communication Center option.
3. When you turn off access to Communication Center, you must select whether you want to save the setting for this computer only or to create a REG-format registry file that can be distributed to multiple computers. In the list at the bottom of the CAD Manager Control Utility window, select Modify System Settings to apply these settings to your computer, or select Create .REG Registry File to create a file that can be used to change the settings on other computers.
4. Click Apply. If you chose to create a registry file, you must specify a file name and location.
   NoteThe Apply button saves changes you make on any of the tabs in the CAD Manager Control utility.

To check for available patches for AutoCAD 2009-based products

1. In the CAD Manager Control Utility window, click the Communication Center tab.
2. On the Communication Center tab, under Live Update Configuration, select Receive Live Updates from Local Network.
3. If a local patch list has not been specified, browse to a folder on the local network where a patch list file exists or select a folder where the default file is to be created.
4. Click Manage Patches.

   If there are available patches for the product that was selected when the CAD Manager Control utility was started, they are listed by patch name in the Manage Patch Folder dialog box.

   If there aren’t any patches, a Communication Center Status dialog box displays a message that there are no patches available for the product.