Using the Portable License Utility to Transfer your Autodesk License
In This Tip
You want to know how to use the Portable license utility to transfer your Autodesk license between computers.
Note: Portable License Utility has been renamed to Online License Transfer in 2010 products.
How To
Ensure that Inventor is installed on both your source and target machines.
If not, install. You want the same version on both machines. You don’t need to activated either license yet.
Move to your target computer. Go to Start Menu -> Programs -> Autodesk -> Autodesk product # -> Portable License Utility for Windows 2000/NT or Start Menu -> All Programs -> Autodesk -> Autodesk product # -> Portable License Utility for Windows XP.
The Portable License Utility application is opened.
At present, there won’t be a license of your Autodesk product available – however, a license will be displayed on the Licenses tab as 'expired', 'exported' or 'unavailable'. All you need to do from this window is record your target computer’s Machine Identification Code, or MIC. This can be located at the bottom left corner of the window, under the Identification code for this computer heading.
Look for a 16-digit alpha-numeric code (Figure 1).
Figure 1: On Target Machine, record your Target computer's Machine Identification Code (MIC)
Return to your source computer. Open the Portable License Utility (see step 2.).
Your active license of your Autodesk product will be displayed on the Licenses tab (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Your active license is displayed.
Click the Computers tab (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Computers tab displays computers that you can currently export to.
Check that the target computer’s MIC isn’t already listed. If so, return to the Licenses tab and go to Step 10.
If not, click Add (Figure 4 & Figure 5).
Figure 4: If your computer's machine id isn't listed, click Add.
Figure 5: the Add Computer dialog
In the Computer Name field, enter anything that will help identify the target computer to you – e.g. “Home PC” or “Work PC”. The computer name will not interfere with the exporting of your license.
In the Identification Code field, enter your target computer’s MIC that you recorded in Step 3.
MAKE SURE THAT THE TARGET COMPUTER’S MIC AND THE IDENTIFICATION CODE FIELD IN THE ADD COMPUTER DIALOGUE BOX ARE EXACTLY THE SAME.
Once the details of the target computer are entered and correct, click Ok. The computer name and MIC you just added is displayed in the list now (Figure 6).
Figure 6: The computer you are exporting to and it's MIC is listed.
select the Licenses tab, and select the Export License button (Figure 7).
Figure 7: select Export License
From the Export License dialogue box, select (highlight) the target computer (Figure 8, A).
From the Export Type heading, select the Transfer file radio button (Figure 8, B). - You can export your license file anywhere on your computer or to a removable drive, however its good practice to place it on your hard drive in an easily locatable folder. To change the transfer file location, click Browse (Figure 8, C) and navigate to a desirable location.
Figure 8: the Export License dialog. Select A) the computer to export to, B) the transfer file option, C) the location to save the exported transfer file to (using Browse), and D) Transfer License.
Click the Transfer License button (Figure 8, D). - The transfer license will be exported to the location determined in Step 12. Click Ok when the License Exported Successfully box appears.
Close the Portable License Utility application.
Navigate to the location of your transfer file (determined in Step 12.). Copy this file to either a floppy drive, other removable drive, or email it to your target computer.
Move to your target computer.
If the Portable License Utility application isn’t open, open it as per Step 2.
In the Licenses tab, click on the Import License button (Figure 9).
Figure 9: select Import License
In the Import License dialogue box, select the Use Transfer File radio button (Figure 10, A).
Click the Browse button (Figure 10, B) and navigate to the transfer file (from either the removable drive, or wherever you moved it to). Once you see the *.plu file, select it and click Open.
Click the Import button (Figure 10, ).
Figure 10: select A) Use transfer file, B) Browse to the location of the transfer file, then C) Import.
If an error message is displayed, you have either entered an incorrect MIC, exported to the wrong machine, the file may be corrupted, or something else has gone wrong. Retrace your steps.
When the License Imported Successfully box appears, click Ok (Figure 11).
Figure 11: License successfully imported dialog is displayed if there were no problems occured while importing the license.
On the Licenses tab of the Portable License Utility application, you will notice that your license is now active (Figure 12). Close the Portable License Utility application. Your license is now transferred and can be used on your target computer.
Figure 12: License now appears in the Portable Licnese Utility as being Full, Active, Never.
