Backing up AutoCAD 2009 & Inventor 2009 settings

Well Im sure that were all very aware of what time of year its getting to benew software release time! Its like Christmas when you were a kid: You can feel it in the air that the new releases arent too far away. With any new software release, theres usually the question of how to save your settings and migrate them to the next version. Were going to discuss the steps to backup most of your settings in preparation of the next releases for AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical and Autodesk Inventor.

AutoCAD 2009 Backup Procedures:
Lets start with AutoCAD 2009. First off, you can save the CUI as an external file by clicking on Tools/Workspaces/Customize. In the Customize User Interface dialogue (See Figure 1), you can click on the Transfer tab at the top. This works on the drag-and-drop premise to backup your interface items. If you are using Workspaces (which is advisable), then simply left-click and hold down on the Workspace name item in the right-hand pane. Now, drag it and drop it on the Workspaces heading in the left-hand pane. This action gets only your Menus, Toolbars and Toolbar Icons. Any keyboard shortcuts, RMB shortcut menus, Double click actions, mouse button assignments, Ribbon items and Legacy items such as Digitizer (for those of us who know what those are) customization items need to be transferred individually. Dont panic-all of those items can still be transferred via drag-and-drop.

Now, what about the AutoCAD Profiles? Well, exporting your Profile will grab most of the settings that are registry specific. Some of the selections in AutoCAD options are drawing specific (hence the DWG icon next to a check-box in the Options dialogue). Export your profile as the ARG file type which can be imported in the next AutoCAD release. Typically, youre going to export the Vanilla profile only if youve made any changes that cant be quickly and easily redone. If youve created a custom profile, then naturally youll need to export that profile name.

The only other tool interface items left in AutoCAD are the Tool Palettes. These little devils must be backed up separately from the CUI. Now, on the title bar of the Tool Palette, RMB and select Customize Palettes (See Figure 2). In the Customize dialogue, the easiest process is to RMB on any custom Tool Palette heading (in the right-hand pane) and click Export (See Figure 3). Performing an Export on each individual Tool Palette will allow you to save the Palette out as an XTP file that can easily be imported in the next AutoCAD release.

Lastly for AutoCAD, copy the ENU folder under the user directory on the system (typical location is Documents & Settings/User Name/Local Settings/Application Data/Autodesk/AutoCAD 2009/R17.2). Also, if any templates are stored locally, performing this step will get copies of them.

AutoCAD Mechanical 2009 Backup Procedures:
For AutoCAD Mechanical, its pretty much an identical process for AutoCAD 2009. No real differences other than the ENU folder location is under AutoCAD Mechanical instead of AutoCAD. As for the profiles, youll need to export the ACADMPP Profile instead of the Vanilla.

Autodesk Inventor 2009 (Suite/Routed/Sim/Pro):
OK, now for what I consider to be the 3D Mechanical flagship product, Inventor. It is a much more simple operation to backup the Inventor Settings than AutoCAD. Inside of Inventor, go to Tools/Application Options. All of your settings controlled by this dialogue can be exported. Simply click on the Export button to save the settings to an external file (see Figure 4).

Now, as for Inventor Project file settings, this largely depends on your project setup. Some work with Project files that are on a network, some with Project files in Vault and others with a local Project file. The main thing you want to make sure of is that you have the Design Data Folders, Textures, Templates and the Catalog folder from your local installation backed-up. All of these folders are typically located in the installation directory for Inventor 2009. A typical installation path is C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2009. It depends on your Project File settings as to whether youre using these folder locations or not. If you are in any doubt, back up these locations. The Design Data folder contains all of your file settings, from Materials in a Part file to the Dimension settings, Layer settings and Text settings in the Drawing (IDW or Inventor DWG). The Textures folder contains any images that youve added which represent product surface textures such as a casting texture or a cloth texture. The Catalogue folder holds any custom IDE files for sheet metal punches as well as iFeatures that youve created. Backup all of these locations and youll be ready for Inventor 2010.

Now for the fine print come on now, you knew this was coming. What has been outlined in this document should cover most situations for most users and it should be a guide for you when backing up most of your critical CAD settings. As for third-party packages (Add-Ins/VB Scripts/the latest tool off of CBliss.com/etc.), that is more tailored to each customer and cant really be generalized. My best advice is to be aware of what tools you use, where they came from (Autodesk or someone else), how those tools are configured and if they are compatible with Inventor 2010. If you need any help making sure youve got what you need (Autodesk products-related) ready for backing up, well, were always here and just a phone call away.

This page last edited on Thursday, June 03, 2010