AutoCAD: The License manager is not functioning or is improperly installed (Part 3)

Recently I was in an installation support call with a customer that was getting the above message after installing AutoCAD 2018...
I tried everything listed in these articles:

• AutoCAD: The License manager is not functioning or is improperly installed

• AutoCAD: The License manager is not functioning or is improperly installed(Part 2)

• Did a full Clean Uninstall.

None of those things worked. 

Finally what it works was, completely removing C++ from the machine through the Control Panel and installing them again from the software installation folder (my case BDSP 2018):

C:\Autodesk\(Autodesk_Software)\3rdParty\x86\VCRedist  
Install each one of them top to bottom 
C:\Autodesk\(Autodesk_Software)\3rdParty\x64\VCRedist
Install each one of them top to bottom

After that everything worked as expected.
Thank you Sebastian Guevara from the Autodesk Installation & Licensing Department

Working with SketchUp Vs FormIt file types and InfraWorks...

Have you ever wonder why if you import an FBX file from any of the available sources like SketchUp, FormIt, any AutoCAD Based software, Revit, Navis to name some of them in InfraWorks regardless of the file units the results are all over the place, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but must of the time the object or objects are in the wrong size...???? 
Well, I took the time to do some comparisons between an export from AutoCAD, FormIt, and SketchUp to the most used file formats Collada (.DAE), .FBX and .OBJ and the way they behave when you import them in InfraWorks as a 3D Models or if you create a 3D Model Style with the same file types...
I worked with a 10-foot Cube, simple and symmetrical geometry for testing porpuses.
Here are my findings...
If you import the same Cube created and exported out from the above-mentioned software into InfraWorks and configure the files as a 3D Models, this is what you get...

Now using the same files side by side as 3D Models vs 3D Model Styles:
- Exported from AutoCAD C3D as an FBX

- Exported from SketchUp and FormIt as an FBX

 - Exported from SketchUp as a Collada (.DAE)

 - Exported from FormIt as a Collada (.DAE)...

Please be aware that I am ONLY making a comparason on the behavior of the objects size wise, none of the examples above include textures, that is another subject ... ;)
Hope this will help you to get a better picture of how to work with the different file types and the software that create them...
Cheers!

How to edit the Curb and Gutter Component Road Dimensions in InfraWorks

I was asked if it was possible to edit the dimensions of the Curb and Gutter on the component road because those parameters show grayed out from within InfraWorks and the dimensions needed to be like a Type F Curve and Gutter, as shown below…

 

Here it is how you can make this work…

Go to:

C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\InfraWorks\LocalLibrary\Styles\ComponentDefinition

And look for the file called Curb & Gutter.ACItem (always make a copy of the original in case something goes wrong and rename it Curb & Gutter.ACItem.bak). 

Select the file, right click on it and go to Edit. This will open the file on the Notepad.

Please note that the parameters on this file are in meters, so conversion will be needed to resize this properly.

Once you are there, make the changes accordingly, this image will illustrate this better…

Each parameter is represented with a different color, the corresponding units are located at the left and the conversion to meters is shown between the brackets.

After making your changes, save the file, you will need to save it in a temporary location like the desktop and then move it back to the original location:

C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\InfraWorks\LocalLibrary\Styles\ComponentDefinition

Restart InfraWorks, open your model and check the changes you made…

** IMPORTANT ** Be aware once you make these changes you will modify the Curb and Gutter Road Component in InfraWorks, these changes will populate in all your models using the same component. So use this at your discretion.
Hope this will give you some ideas on how to modify other components or making your own component definition, but that may be a topic for another post… ;)