About installing Netfabb – Frequently asked questions

Topic	Question	Answer
Trial	"How do I start a trial?"	After launching Netfabb for the first time after installation, choose Enter a Serial Number. On the next pages you will have a Run button to start the trial.
Trial of Simulation	"When trialling the Simulation Utility LT, I am told the Local Solver cannot be found."	The Local Solver, or Autodesk® Netfabb® Local Simulation, is a separate product that is not included in the trial. Please contact Sales to learn about trialling Local Simulation.
Simulation	"Where is Simulation Utility LT?"	Autodesk® Simulation Utility LT for Netfabb® was removed from the Premium subscription of Netfabb 2020. It is now only included with the Ultimate subscription.
Simulation	"Where is solving on the cloud using Simulation Utility LT?"	Cloud simulation was terminated and is no longer available. Using Netfabb Ultimate, you get a local solver installed that can perform solving on your own hardware and has limitations as to how detailed and how large a simulation you can run. Solving that is not limited like this is included in the separate product Autodesk® Netfabb® Local Simulation.
Netfabb Basic	"How do I get Netfabb Basic?"	The free Autodesk® Netfabb® is included in the Netfabb installer for any subscription. If you have Netfabb installed and activated, or installed and begun a trial, Launch Netfabb and switch System > Settings > General > Start without license to Yes. If you have installed Netfabb but have not launched it yet after installation, Launch Netfabb. When the Let's Get Started dialog appears, close it and confirm Do you really want to cancel licensing? by clicking Yes. In the Startup Warning dialog, tick Always start non-licensed version. You can now launch Netfabb by clicking Start non-licensed version.
Installation path	"Netfabb does not install into requested directory, but creates a named subdirectory, Netfabb Standard/Premium/Ultimate 2018."	This is mandated by Autodesk standard installers and cannot be changed.
Overwriting existing installation	"The Netfabb (2017.x) installer used to ask me whether to overwrite an existing installation. With Netfabb 2018.x [and newer], not anymore. Where is this option?"	With completing the move to Autodesk standard installers, this is no longer possible. You must uninstall the conflicting Netfabb installation first before a new version can be installed. You can, however, install multiple versions of Netfabb side-by-side, provided they differ in major version (2020.x vs. 2019.x, for example) and/or subscription level (2020 Premium vs. 2020 Standard, for example).
System requirements	"What are the System Requirements for installing Netfabb?"	These are listed on a website here: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/article/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-Netfabb-2021.
Offline help	"Is Netfabb Help available in a stand-alone, offline version for users who are not on the Internet?"	Yes, although you need to go online to download it. The offline help download is available from this link: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/article/232391. It includes help for Netfabb and all the related utilities, as well as installation instructions. Videos that appear in the Online Help are not included in the Offline Help, but links are provided to the online locations.
Installer's command-line options	"I have found other Autodesk products where the installer supports command-line options to override default behavior. I tried using them with Netfabb, but it doesn't work properly. What is the correct way to use command-line options?"	The correct phrasing for the installer's command-line options is as in the following example: Setup.exe /t /qb /w /language en-us /c Netfabb:INSTALLDIR="E:\test"
Multiple installations	"I do not see an option to install more than one instance of Netfabb on the same machine, where is it?"	This is mandated by Autodesk standard installers and cannot be changed. It is based on the limitations imposed by the Windows Installer technology.
Quiet installation	"When using the quiet mode through the command-line options, no indication appears when the installation fails."	'Quiet' mode, unfortunately, really does mean 'quiet' and will even suppress any errors leading to failure to install.
Downgrading and installation	"How do I switch an existing installation between the different subscription?"	A licensed Netfabb Ultimate installation may be downgraded to Premium or Standard by starting netfabb.exe with the command-line parameters --premium and --standard, respectively.
Updating to newer version	"After installing a newer major version, launching Netfabb produces an error message." "Contact your network license administrator."	When switching from 2020.x to 2021.x, for example, your network license administrator must update Autodesk Network License Manager and also must generate and install a new license file.
Installation log files	"What installation log files are there, and where are they?"	Installation logs are created as text files at %TEMP%. For example, this may resolve to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ where <username> is your Windows login name. Netfabb<subscription>Setup.log Netfabb_<subscription>_<version>_INSTALL.log ATU_<version>_INSTALL.log … where <subscription> may be one of Standard, Premium, and Ultimate, depending on the installer, and <version> be 2021_0, for example AdskLicensing_install.log Optionally, one or more dd_vcredist_<…>.log files … where <…> may be amd64_20200623092533, for example, indicating system architecture and timestamp.