Explains general guidelines for borrowing network product licenses.
License borrowing is an optional feature of network licensing. On Windows servers, license borrowing can be set up using LMTOOLS.
If you are using a network-licensed version of your Autodesk product and your network supports the license borrowing feature, you can borrow a product license from your network license server to use the Autodesk product for a specified time when your computer is not connected to the network. Your license is automatically returned to the license server at the end of the day on the return date you set when you borrow the license. You can also return a license early. The maximum borrowing period is six months.
If you do not remember when a borrowed license expires, you can check the date in two ways: click Help 
About and consult the Product License Information dialog box, or in some products, place your cursor over the Borrowing icon in the status tray (lower right corner of the screen).
When the borrowing period expires, the borrowed license is automatically returned to the license server. When your computer is reconnected to the network, you can run your Autodesk product from the network or borrow a license again.
The default borrowing period is 180 days, or six months. In practice, this is usually much longer than necessary, and it exposes a borrowed license to the risk of being out of circulation for an extended period. For example, if the license is on a laptop computer, and the computer is stolen or damaged, the license cannot be returned early. By using an options file, you can configure license borrowing behavior to specify the default borrow period, restrict the number of licenses that can be borrowed, and set up a list of specific users who are allowed to borrow licenses.
Interaction with Other License-Borrowing Tools
Using the license-borrowing feature in your Autodesk product is the recommended way to borrow a license. Some third-party borrowing tools are available, but these tools are not supported or compatible with the license-borrowing feature in your Autodesk product. Other supported license-borrowing tools are the Autodesk License-Borrowing utility (shipped with Autodesk products) and the borrowing feature in LMTOOLS utility, a component of the Autodesk Network License Manager on Windows servers.
If another license-borrowing tool is active when you attempt to use the license-borrowing feature, proceed as follows to borrow a license for your Autodesk product:
- If you run the Autodesk License-Borrowing utility that shipped with your Autodesk product and then turn on the borrowing flag for the Adskflex option or the All option, a license can be borrowed when you start your Autodesk product. However, you cannot return a license until you exit and then restart your Autodesk product.
- On a Windows server, if borrowing is set in the LMTOOLS utility for all products, either use the other tool to borrow licenses for your Autodesk product, or stop the borrowing process in LMTOOLS utility, and then use the license-borrowing feature in your Autodesk product.
- If borrowing is set in LMTOOLS utility for non-Autodesk products only, stop the borrowing process in the LMTOOLS utility. You can then use the license-borrowing feature to borrow licenses for your Autodesk product. If you do not stop the borrowing process in LMTOOLS utility, the license-borrowing feature will not function.