AUTODESK SOFTWARE REVIEW PORTAL. Autodesk Software. Review Portal USER GUIDE. Page 1 of 25

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1 Page 1 of 25 AUTODESK SOFTWARE REVIEW PORTAL Autodesk Software Review Portal USER GUIDE

2 Welcome Dear Autodesk Customer, Together, Autodesk and our customers are driving the future of making things. There are radical changes happening right now in the way things are designed, made, and used. To ensure you have the best set of tools and right insights into how to get the most from your investment, Autodesk s Software Asset Management Team requests your company s participation in a Software Review to confirm installation and usage of Autodesk products and services are in alignment with Autodesk licensing agreements. The Autodesk Software Review Portal is designed to guide your company through this process. Thank you for your participation. Sincerely, The Autodesk Software Management Team Page 2 of 25

3 Contents Welcome... 2 Introduction... 4 How Does It Work... 5 Getting Started... 6 Help Is Available... 7 Messaging Feature... 8 Register... 9 Log In...10 User Profile...11 Company Profile...12 Getting Inventory...13 Manual Inventory...15 Review and Submit...17 Software Review Report...18 What Happens Next...19 Appendix...20 Frequently Asked Questions...21 Glossary of Terms...23 Inventory Tools...24 More Resources...24 Page 3 of 25

4 Introduction Welcome to the Autodesk Software Review Portal. This Portal has been designed to help Autodesk customers complete a review of the Autodesk software installed in their IT environment. The Portal has been designed to be as simple as possible allowing you to complete the review process by using an automated inventory tool. We provide a step-by-step overview of how to navigate through the tool and complete the review. In addition to this guide, there is a "How It Works" and FAQ featured in the Portal. There is also a messaging feature available after you register if you require further assistance from Autodesk's Software Management Team. Page 4 of 25

5 How Does It Work Six Simple Steps The Portal is designed to guide you through the six key stages of completing the Review. 1. Registration Register in the Portal. Your registration is unique and private for you. All information is kept confidential and will not be passed to third parties or used for other marketing purposes. 2. Company Profile Fill in details about your company and IT environment. These entries will help to match the information you provide with the right company account and registration data. 3. Get Inventory Collect the key information required concerning all of the Autodesk software you have installed on your PCs. We call this your Inventory of Autodesk Software. Install the Autodesk Inventory Adviser (AIA). This tool is free to use and will only collect information about the Autodesk software you have installed on your PCs. It puts this information into a simple.xml file that you then import into the Portal. If you only have a few PCs and you prefer to enter your Autodesk Inventory data manually, you may contact us via the Portal and request to be allowed access to the Inventory manual data entry form. This form is a discretionary alternative to the AIA tool. 4. Upload Inventory Once you have collected Inventory from all your PCs with AIA, you can run a report of all your installed Autodesk software. Simply use the link in the Portal to upload the inventory report file. 5. Submit Data Once you are satisfied that the information is complete, simply submit and Autodesk will do the rest. 6. Software Review Report Once we receive your installed Autodesk Inventory data, we will compare it with your software registrations in our database. Based on this you will receive a "Software Review Report" of your current licensing position. If the company profile and software inventory are complete, we will post the final report for you to review via the Portal. Once this report is visible on the portal you can consider the Software Review process concluded. This document is confidential and will only be shared with you. If compliance issues are identified, a Software Management Representative will be in touch to discuss the matter and work together on a resolution Messages The Portal has a messaging feature that allows you to exchange chat messages with your Autodesk Software Management Representative. Attachments can be included in these messages. Page 5 of 25

6 Getting Started Familiarize yourself with the Portal Autodesk s Software Asset Management Team will request your company s participation in a Software Review via . The will contain a Registration Code unique to your company. To access the Portal, go to and enter the registration code in the New Users section. It is helpful to familiarize yourself with the Portal by navigating through the tabs at the top of the page. Home Takes you to the login page for new or existing users. How it works A simple overview to get you started. A walkthrough of the six stages of completing the Review. Getting Inventory Explains the options available to gather your software Inventory information using an automated inventory tool called the Autodesk Inventory Advisor (AIA). FAQ Contains Frequently Asked Questions and covers questions about the Portal and the process. There is also a glossary of terms used in the Portal. If your question isn t included, there is the option to contact the Autodesk Software Management Team using the messaging feature available after registration is complete. About SAM Links to the Autodesk Software Asset Management website for more information on why Software Asset Management is important. Page 6 of 25

7 Help Is Available Where can I go for help? The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page should be your first resource for common questions. Simply click on the title bar to display the answers. Below the questions is a short glossary of terms and acronyms. If you are unable to find the answer here, a messaging feature is available after registration is complete. Page 7 of 25

8 Messaging Feature Messages and Attachments To help keep information up-to-date and all the messages in the same place, we have built a simple messaging feature in the Portal. It allows two-way communication between Autodesk and you, alerting you to status changes, new or missing information and incoming messages from the Portal Administrators. You can send messages and files regarding your review. Any file type is accepted as an attachment (spreadsheets, pdf s, and photographs). You will also be able to follow the discussion in the Message section as all your messages and replies are stored in the order they were sent. Page 8 of 25

9 Register Step 1 Register & Log in To register, you will need to enter your company s unique registration code which can be found in the you received from Autodesk requesting your company s participation in the Review process. First time users should type the reference code into the New Users section and press Register Now. This takes you to the Registration form where you enter your contact details and select a personal password. Make sure you use a strong password that you can remember. Accept the terms and conditions and press Register Now to continue. Page 9 of 25

10 Log In Once you have registered and received a confirmation , you can log back in anytime and continue using the tool. LOGGING IN Use the Existing User and password fields to log back in. RECOVER A LOST PASSWORD Click Forgotten Password? To have a temporary password ed to you. Your personal homepage After logging in you will see your new Portal home page. It gives you a visual workflow of the steps you will take to complete the review process. Page 10 of 25

11 User Profile Your User Profile link is visible at the top right of every screen within the Portal once you are logged in. CHANGING PASSWORD Your password can be changed at any time by visiting the User Profile link and selecting the Change Password link. The Portal requires a strong password to protect your information. Your password: Must contain minimum 6 characters Must contain 1 uppercase character Must contain 1 lowercase character Must contain 1 special character (e.g.,$,&,*,^,=) Page 11 of 25

12 Company Profile Step 2 Complete your company profile The next step is to complete your Company and IT Profile information. This is a series of short questions about your company and IT environment. The questions are grouped under two headings: Company Profile and IT Profile. Expand each section by clicking on the gray bar. Please enter as much of the general information about your company as possible. As long as you answer the mandatory questions marked with the red asterisk, you will be able to click Save & Proceed to move to the next section As you move from one section to another you ll see green icons appearing in the completed sections. If you have not answered all the mandatory questions, you ll see a similar red icon. Page 12 of 25

13 Getting Inventory How to get an inventory of my Autodesk software Collect the key information required concerning all the Autodesk software you have installed on your PCs. We use the term Inventory to refer to part of the Autodesk Software Review that relates to the actual collection of relevant data associated with Autodesk software deployed and installed in your IT environment. 1. Install the Autodesk Inventory Advisor (AIA) This is a professional scanning tool that only reports on Autodesk products. It is free to use and will only collect information about the Autodesk software you have installed on your PCs. It puts this information into a simple.xml file that you then import into the Portal. Download Autodesk Inventory Advisor (AIA): AIA Quick Start Guide: AIA Manual Scan Video: If you only have a few PCs and you prefer to enter your Autodesk Inventory data manually, you may contact the Portal Administrator and request to be allowed access to the Inventory manual data entry form. This Portal form is a discretionary alternative to the AIA tool. 2. Run software scan on all your PCs Run the AIA tool to collect information about the Autodesk software installed on your PCs 3. Create a report Export a report directly from AIA in.xml format by running a By Serial Number report in AIA. Instruction on how to do this can be found in the AIA Quick Start Guide Page 13 of 25

14 4. Upload the report to the Portal Upload the.xml file to the Portal to review the results and submit your Software Review to Autodesk. To upload your report, login to the Portal and follow these steps: From the Home page select upload Inventory from the main buttons on the screen From the Upload Inventory screen click Browse to launch a windows explorer window for you to search for the right file. Select the inventory report file you created with AIA (saved as an XML file) by double clicking it. The file name should now appear next to the Browse button, if you are satisfied it is the correct file click the Upload button to start the upload. When the upload is complete, you will get a confirmation notifying you the file was uploaded successfully. If you receive an error message, check that the file format is XML and you ran a By Serial Number report in AIA. If you think that the file is correct and are still having issues, you can send the file via the messaging feature in the Portal and the Administrator can provide additional assistance. Page 14 of 25

15 Manual Inventory Completing the inventory manually The manual form will only be made available on request for customers with only a few PCs running Autodesk software. If you only have a few PCs and you prefer to enter your Autodesk Inventory data manually, you may contact the Portal Administrator through the messaging feature in the Portal and request to be allowed access to the Inventory manual data entry form. This form is a discretionary alternative to the AIA tool for customers that only have a few PCs. Advantages Because the questions are answered manually, there is no IT knowledge required to deploy an Inventory tool. Disadvantages The inventory process will take more time to complete and require resources. General advice Only software that you know about will be included you won t have a view of anything you were not aware was installed, for example anything downloaded or installed personally by employees or out of IT policy. You are unlikely to identify security risks, such as out of support software installed on your systems. The Manual Inventory consists of a single table. You need to manually gather information from all the PCs on which Autodesk software is installed. Each row must be completed and contain information of a single PC only. You can save your work anytime by clicking on the Save button, and return to the form later. Complete one line per PC with the following information: PC Name Type in PC name Application Name Select from dropdown list Application Version Select from dropdown list Serial Number Type in the serial number (format xxx-xxxxxxxx; three numbers followed by a dash and eight more numbers) Installation Type Select from dropdown list Location Type in PC location (business unit or address) Page 15 of 25

16 Network Installations Network Installation Type in the Inventory If you have Installation Type = Network, you will need to supply the Autodesk license file from your Autodesk network license server. Autodesk Network License files have a.lic file extension. Locating the license file is a simple process, which involves using the LMTOOLS utility. The tool can be in one of many locations however is generally located in C:\Program Files\Autodesk Network License Manager. More information on how to locate the license file can be found here A yellow bar opens and asks you to upload the correct license file. Once you have selected the correct file in File Explorer, just click Upload button. Page 16 of 25

17 Review and Submit Review the information and submit When all the information of the Software Review has been completed (Company Profile, IT Profile and Software Inventory), look over each section to ensure you are satisfied with the information included. If you completed an automated inventory, you can still amend your company/it profile information before submitting. Once satisfied that all the information is correct, you submit the Software Review by clicking the submit button at the bottom of the Summary page. If you have missed mandatory information, a red bar will appear and highlight the missing information. Once you have completed the missing section, return to the Summary page and press Submit again. Once submitted, you will receive an confirming the receipt of your Software Review information. Page 17 of 25

18 Software Review Report Receiving your Software Review Report Once we receive your profile information and Inventory of Autodesk software, we will compare that data with your software registrations in our database. You will then receive a "Software Review Report" of your current licensing position. This document is confidential and will only be shared with you. If potential compliance issues are identified, a Software Management Representative will be in touch to discuss the matter and work together on a resolution. Page 18 of 25

19 What Happens Next Final review of your Report When you receive the Software Review Report, you should determine whether there are any areas requiring further action. To gain the maximum benefit from the process, you can use your automated Inventory report (if you have one) and the Software Review Report from the Portal to have a comprehensive review of your current IT environment and plan next steps. Points to consider should include: What software is installed and where? Do you have Autodesk software installed that you didn t know about? Have employees installed software or applications outside of IT policy? Are employees accessing your networks from their own devices? Are you using all the software you own? Are you paying for software you aren t using? Are employees benefiting from the software you have? Do different employees have different software requirements? Is the installed software up-to-date? Is your software at end of life or in need of an upgrade? Is the software installed correctly? Are you short on any licenses? Are you using the correct versions? Are you at risk of IP infringement? Feedback and potential actions Once the Review is complete you may also receive practical advice from Autodesk concerning your current environment and licensing position, including: What Autodesk software you have installed and where A software analysis highlighting use Clear instructions how to settle shortfalls, should you have any Licensing Autodesk software through subscription The Autodesk Software Management Team is available to discuss any of your findings and help with any next steps from advising about upgrades and licensing questions to addressing any risk concerns. Page 19 of 25

20 Appendix Page 20 of 25

21 Frequently Asked Questions Why has my company been selected by Autodesk for a Software Review? As a customer of Autodesk, your company has been selected to undergo a Software Review. Every licensee of Autodesk Software may be selected by Autodesk for a Software Review, in accordance with applicable Autodesk license agreements. What is a License and Services Agreement? We generally provide our License and Services Agreements electronically within each software product as a "click through". Please refer to the particular software product and version for the applicable License and Services Agreements. Unless your company has another agreement directly with Autodesk that controls your use of Autodesk software products, the terms and conditions of the License and Services Agreement that accompanies the software product applies. What is the Autodesk Inventory Advisor? The Autodesk Inventory Advisor (AIA) is a standalone scan tool that is designed to be installed on a single computer running a workstation-class operating system and scan the systems on the network to collect Autodesk licensing data. It is an agent-less scan and no footprint is left on the endpoints. AIA uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to scan the Windows Registry and Autodesk Product Information Table on each system. You can target machines using IP address range(s), an import of computer names from Active Directory, or via a logon script using a command-line version of the tool. The scan is designed to have little to no impact on your systems or network. AIA does not communicate with Autodesk servers and you are in control of the data until it is sent to Autodesk or its representative. Does the AIA tool collect personal data from my PCs? Autodesk Inventory Advisor only will capture Autodesk product-related information and machine IDs. If a company s machine ID naming convention includes personal data, then such information will be captured. This information will be treated in accordance with the Autodesk Privacy Statement. If this is a concern for your company, we suggest that your naming convention be anonymized. How do I install and run the Autodesk Inventory Advisor? Please refer to the Autodesk Inventory Advisor Quick Start Guide to help you install and run the tool. Can I ask someone else in my company to complete this Software Review? Yes. If you are not the right contact for this activity for example, you are not the person who is responsible for managing Autodesk Software in your company please forward the request and registration code to the appropriate person. Also, if you are the correct contact, but prefer someone else in your company to perform the Software Review then please ask this person to perform the task. How long will it take for Autodesk to inform me of the results after I upload the software inventory file? Autodesk aims to provide the results of your Software Review within 3-5 business days. However, in peak periods there may be some delay. We thank you in advance for your patience. How much of our company s time need to be invested in this process? There are 2 key components to the Autodesk Software Review Portal. The first part is a simple company profile section, which will take you a few minutes to complete. The second part is the actual software Inventory using the Autodesk Inventory Advisor. We have prepared a guide with step-by-step instructions relating to deployment and implementation of the Autodesk Inventory Advisor. If the guide is followed correctly, the process should require light investment of time. Difficulties generally arise if the guide is not followed. As a first line of support, please see the troubleshooting section of the quick start guide. Typically, Autodesk Inventory Advisor should take no longer than 45 minutes to install and finalize an initial Inventory. Once the initial scan is complete, AIA does not continue to scan machines in the background. The user will need to manually run a scan once per day for the duration of the data capturing process. We recommend each scan be performed at different times of day to capture the highest percentage of PCs. Each scan will require just a few minutes to complete. The AIA database operates in an additive manner, each scan will be working only to locate and inventory machines that it has not seen during a previous scan. With this in mind and without unforeseen technical challenges, minimal time investment is required to complete scanning of your environment using Autodesk Inventory Advisor. Once you are satisfied that all the machines in the environment have been scanned, you may submit the inventory to Autodesk via the Portal. Page 21 of 25

22 What if compliance issues are identified during the Review process? An Autodesk Software Management Representative will be in touch to discuss the matter and work together on a resolution. Who do I contact at Autodesk if I have any questions about this Software Review? The Portal has messaging functionality that allows you to ask questions and interact with the Autodesk Software Management team. Page 22 of 25

23 Glossary of Terms Term Meaning AD AIA CSN Environment Inventory Software Review Report Active Directory. Microsoft technology to manage users and devices in your network. Used for finding users and workstations to scan during inventory. Autodesk Inventory Advisor. A free inventory tool that scans your entire network and reports back all the installed Autodesk software with correct serial numbers. Customer Specific Number. Your Autodesk customer code. You might have several CSNs for your company. Your current PC s, printers and other network connected equipment. Stock taking of your currently installed software on all your PC s. Effective Software Position. Any difference between your installed software and the software that you have registered with Autodesk. Registration Report Proof of Ownership SAM A report of all your registered Autodesk software. Methods of providing proof of purchase of your Autodesk software. These include volume license agreement numbers, or purchase invoices, as examples. Software Asset Management (SAM) is a set of tools and processes that help companies manage and keep track of the software they have licensed. SCCM Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. SCCM is a Windows product that enables administrators to manage the deployment and security of devices and applications across an enterprise. Page 23 of 25

24 Inventory Tools Autodesk Inventory Advisor (AIA) is a professional scanning tool that only reports on Autodesk products. It is free to use and will only collect information about the Autodesk software you have installed on your PCs. It puts this information into a simple.xml file that you then import into the Portal. Download Autodesk Inventory Advisor (AIA): AIA Quick Start Guide: AIA Manual Scan Video: More Resources Autodesk Websites More information on Autodesk licensing can be found at There is a dedicated section for License Compliance at Read more about Software Asset Management and benefits at Page 24 of 25

25 Page 25 of 25 AUTODESK SOFTWARE REVIEW PORTAL AUTODESK SOFTWARE REVIEW PORTAL THANK YOU FOR USING THE AUTODESK SOFTWARE REVIEW PORTAL