Hi everyone. Now that Autodesk has moved to a new method of creating custom installers for their products my older “Deploying AutoDesk AutoCAD 2019 with Intune” article needed some updating.
Below you’ll find the instructions to deploy any Autodesk application using Microsoft Intune and Endpoint Manager. I’ll be using AutoCAD 2023 in my examples, but the process should be similar for any Autodesk product that appears on the Custom Install screen.
In order to create a custom installer you’ll need to perform some customization steps through the Autodesk website, some in Windows, and finally some in Endpoint Manager.
Create the Custom Installation Package
Log into the Audodesk management site at: https://manage.autodesk.com/products/deployments
Click Custom Install
Click Create new
Under License Type choose Serial Number
Select the product you are looking to package
Click Next
Next to Package name, I’m going to use AutoCAD2023
You can use whatever you’d like, but choosing that will make sure your files look just like mine.
You can only create a deployment to a network share. Since we’re using Intune, this isn’t relevant, so we’ll pick the hidden C: drive share to specify your local computer. Choose \\localhost\c$\users\[your username]\Desktop\autocad .
You can uncheck the “Install Autodesk desktop app” if you won’t be using it.
Click Download
Run the downloaded file. This will create a folder on your desktop called autocad .
You may see messages like the below when installing. You can ignore them and click Continue.
Package the Installer
If you haven’t already, download a copy of the Microsoft Win32 Content Prep Tool to your Downloads folder from https://github.com/Microsoft/Microsoft-Win32-Content-Prep-Tool
Open Windows Terminal or PowerShell. Change directory into the directory just above the autocad folder you create for the network installation.
For me that’s:
cd ~/Desktop
Tell the Intune prep tool to create a package from the autocad directory, use the Installer.exe located in the image folder, and save the package to your current directory:
~/Downloads/intunewinapputil.exe -c .\autocad\ -s image\Installer.exe -o .
The package will be named Installer.intunewin . Since that’s not very helpful, rename it to something that is.
mv Installer.intunewin autocad2023.intunewin
Create & Deploy in Intune
Log in to Intune device management at: https://endpoint.microsoft.com
Choose Apps->All Apps
Click the Add Button
Choose the App Type “Windows app (Win32) then click Select at the bottom of the screen.
Choose the autocad2023.intunewin file you created.
Open the autocad folder on your desktop.
Right click on AutoCAD2023.bat and click Edit
Under the line
rem ========== Install the deployment silently ==========
Copy your installer version number.
Return to Endpoint Manager.
On the Program step change the install command to the following (making sure to use the version of the installer copied in the previous step):
image\Installer.exe -i deploy --offline_mode -q -o "image\Collection.xml" --installer_version "1.32.0.7"
For the uninstaller, this is a bit of a kludge since it only uninstalls the main component, not the rest. For me, this is sufficient.
The IdentifyingNumber seems to be the same regardless of version number, but to be sure, on a machine with AutoCAD 2023 installed, run the following in PowerShell.
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | where name -eq "AutoCAD 2023 - English"
Make the uninstall command like mine below, but making sure to use the IdentifyingNumber that you got above.
msiexec /uninstall
{28B89EEF-6101-0409-2102-CF3F3A09B77D}
Choose 64bit Windows 10 under the Requirements
Under Detection Rules choose “Manually configure detection rules”
Click + Add
Choose MSI for rule type and enter the same identifier as above: {28B89EEF-6101-0409-2102-CF3F3A09B77D}
No Dependencies are needed.
Finally, assign it to whatever device groups you need. Devices in those groups will automatically download and install AutoCAD 2023. Alternatively, you can assign it to user groups and those users can install AutoCAD from the Company Portal app.
Thanks again for all of you that patiently waited for this while we got our licensing sorted with AutoDesk and the amazing staff there who got it all working for us.
Please feel free to leave me comments below and I’ll reply as soon as I can.
-Adam
We have an Education license with a serial number for AutoCAD2023. When logging in at https://manage.autodesk.com/products/deployments and go to Custom install and +New the screen remains empty-white. So I cannot choose License type Serial Number etc.
Would this be related to the Education license and how would you suggest to get to some sort of deployment version we can use with Intune?
Also tried the batch commands like in: https://www.autodesk.eu/support/download-install/admins/create-deployments/using-batch-file-templates but this resulted in the standard dialog which type of license to use ( serial, Autodesk ID or Network ) –> so the serial key added as an argument to setup.exe is ignored…
Any help would be much appreciated. Alternative would be to use a tool like Emco
Ed, thanks for reaching out!
There are two possibilities. The first is that you just need to activate the serial number. Install the app on a device, run the app, then activate it. This should register the app with the custom installer.
If the page is still empty after that, it’s a known issue. We had the same thing happen. You’ll need to reach out to support and ask them to fix your custom install screen.
Good luck!
-Adam
Hi Adam
Thanks for the great post. I have been trying to follow the instructions but it keeps failing without much logs. I have a feeling that it is something with the “cpollection.xml” which has local paths used in it. do I need to change that to /image/ as well?
Thanks in advance,
Omid
Omid,
Thanks for reaching out!
For me, Collection.xml only lists a logging path and should use whatever you put into “Deployment Image Path” when you create the custom installer from AutoDesk’s website.
Have you tried running: image\Installer.exe -i deploy –offline_mode -q -o “image\Collection.xml” –installer_version “1.32.0.7”
just from a command prompt from within the autocad directory?
Maybe try removing the -q so it doesn’t run in quiet mode.
– Adam
Thanks Adam. I got it working using this command
Installer.exe -i deploy –offline_mode -q -o “Collection.xml” –installer_version “1.33.0.25”
Omid,
Glad to hear it! It sounds like your folder hierarchy is one level different from mine. That’s why I need to specify the image directory (since I’m one level up) and you don’t, as you’re operating from within the the image directory.
-Adam
do i need to change paths in the collection.xml?
Hi Adam,
Thanks for this blog. I am experiencing the same issue with the collection.xml. I have just modified it to use the %username% instead of my username. I will package this up and try again.
Anthony,
You’re welcome! Let me know if %username% does the trick for you.
-Adam
It seems as though that hasn’t worked either. I have followed your steps exactly. Does the collection.xml need to be included in the install command line? or could installer.exe -i -q work?
I believe the installer does need to be pointed to the Collection.xml file in order to work correctly.
If your folder hierarchy is someone off from mine, this might do the trick for you as it did for Omid:
Installer.exe -i deploy –offline_mode -q -o “Collection.xml” –installer_version “1.33.0.25”
He’s running from inside the image directory, so he needed to specify “collection.xml” directory, whereas I was one folder up, so I needed to specify the subfolder as “image\collection.xml”
Putting Autodesk products in the Company Portal would be my holy grail. Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Let’s say we want to deploy Revit 2023, which is 10GB. We would have to cut this install in half, or 3 pieces, and make them all dependencies of the main Revit 2023 install. After pressing the install button in Company Portal, the user would have to wait an hour for the product to download, and then another hour for it to install. All the while not being able to use any Revit product (and if we’re lucky no Office applications either).
Also, i’ve noticed i can put the devices in required and have the dependencies install automatically, but not in available (Company Portal). For this to work i have to add the devices in available for every dependancy.
I now deploy Autodesk and other large installs during lunch time, one at a time. But it’s a PITA…
You can actually reach out to Microsoft through the intune portal to get the limit increased. Just submit a support case from your tenant and they should be able to increase it up to 30 GB.
Thanks for the work you’ve done with this guide!
I have a question regarding the uninstall.
Why not use the AutoCAD 2023 UninstallString value from HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall? The one that starts with “C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AdODIS\V1\Installer.exe -i uninstall…”
While msiexec /uninstall does the job just right, because 2022+ products use their own installer, I’ve found that running the above uninstall string will uninstall and ALSO clear up the installer engine records for that product. Running msiexec will do the job as well, but will leave the orphaned entry in the installer db, causing issues if you plan to reinstall at some point later.
Adam,
Just found this after a number of installs the old way with Endpoint Manager/Intune. I noticed a few comments for Revit on the 8gb size limit, Tenant admins can open a ticket with Microsoft to have the file size increased I think the ultimate limit is 30gb and most revit ones come in the 12-15 range just FYI.
Thank you for posting all this.
You’re right. But you would still have to battle the install/download timeout. I went with the ‘required’ install method. Where I split a 7zipped install into 2 or 3 parts. Then make these a requirement before installing.
Thanks for the tip, that’s great to know!
So it works well for the first install of Revit. But what about updates? Been battling that for the past few weeks. I created a new deployment and set it as superseded the last one. It goes through its thing, shows installed, but Revit is still the previous version. Any thoughts? Or is there a better way to do updates?
Personally, I only push out new annual versions, not updates between versions since it’s not really necessary for our students.
Have you tried enabling “MSI product version check”? I believe the issue may be that Intune detects that the MSI code of the older version matches that of the new version so it doesn’t detect an upgrade is necessary.
Thanks for the reply. It seems it was a stupid mistake on my part. I use the presence of a registry key to determine if the program was there. On this instance I had mistakenly checked the “doesn’t exist” so it was thinking the software had been installed. I can’t say how many times I looked at it and it just didn’t click.
Can someone please explain this part regarding the Microsoft Win32 Content Prep Tool. I have used the tool many times to convert the file to a .intune.wim file. However it only allows you to pick the source, destination and the file. So what does it mean by changing direction to ‘cd ~/Desktop’ and also the ‘~/Downloads/intunewinapputil.exe -c .\autocad\ -s image\Installer.exe -o .’ part.
The ~ just means from the current directory. When you start powershell it starts in your user folder so ~/Desktop would be the same as C:\Users\xxxxx\Desktop
Hi. I am working for first time on deploying AutoCAD to intune. End goal is to make it available from Company Portal. However I keep getting error from Portal AutoCAD does not install… could someone make a video of how this works please… it is wrecking my poor head
Dont worry i found out what you mean haha i feel so dumb!
I am seeing a super generic error when trying to deploy Revit 2023 following the above… “[DeviceName ERROR] Deployment initialization failed for Upi2: {B4E35F04-D559-35E9-AB70-E0131AF7AB5B}”. I am noticing in the Collection.xml that the ‘DeploymentImagePath’ is pointing back to that \\localhost\c$\ path from the Autodesk Deployment creation path… should that deployment path be changed to something like .\image instead since intune is not unpackaging anything to that \\localhost\ path? I’m not really sure what else to troubleshoot.
Well… after trying different values there, even when launching the deployment as-is from the original build location, it was still failing… so I’m going to start over and see what happens
What did you end up putting as path? Did it work?
The issue wasn’t the pathing. I rebuilt the deployment and left the pathing as-is. It turned out it was an issue with the autodesk deployment itself, before making the intune package. I believe it was a version conflict with other software already installed on the machines, but I don’t recall the specific details at this time.
Hi there, thanks for the guide. I’ve followed these steps but have an error during installation. The intune admin center shows the error code ‘the system cannot find the file specified’ (0x80070002). Any advice?
Hi, you’re very welcome and thanks for reaching out!
Unfortunately, that error isn’t much to go on. Can you see if there’s anything more specific in the Intune logs: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/apps/apps-win32-troubleshoot
If not, can you try re-downloading and starting over? Make sure that you use the same file name and locations that I use in the examples. If you’re still getting that error, let me know.
Thanks for your replying I appreciate it. I managed to get the deployment working after a couple days of troubleshooting. Is there anything that would stop the uninstall command working for certain users? For example my own device I’ve had several installs fail and uninstalls manually. I had a successful installation yesterday but the uninstall command seems stuck in a loop of Company Portal pushing out the uninstall but AutoCAD won’t actually uninstall. But on a fresh machine that has had no previous AutoCAD attempts on it, the install and uninstall worked perfectly with no issues. Would remnants of failed installations stop it working on my device?
You’re very welcome!
The uninstall from Intune is a bit of a kludge. It’s going to try to uninstall that one MSI product code for AutoCAD itself, but not any other apps (such as the Autodesk Desktop App).
If you had failed installations, I’d recommend exempting that device from getting AutoCAD from Intune, removing everything related to Autodesk & AutoCAD from Add/Remove Programs, giving a reboot, then re-allowing it to pull AutoCAD from Intune.
Hope that helps!
Thanks again. I was able to package up ReCAP Pro and successfully deploy through Company Portal and uninstall on two devices. I think my device is just got a lot of messy files left over from testing and causing the AutoCAD to fail to uninstall.
I do have a question for you though. ReCAP Pro installs another piece of software called Autodesk ReCap Photo. This has it’s own msi, is there anyway to have two msi codes in the curly brackets code of the uninstall command? So that it removes both the main software and the additional software that get’s installed along side it?
Glad you were able to successfully build and deploy!
Unfortunately, if you want to uninstall more than one code you need to do something a bit more custom. You should be able to write a pretty basic Power Shell script that runs msiexec.exe /uninstall {product code} for each app you’re looking to remove and setting it as the uninstall script for AutoCAD.
To make life easier, you can package that script as its own app in Intune (using something like Advanced Installer to create the MSI) and setting it as a prerequisite package for AutoCAD so that it gets installed first. That should also let you deploy updates to the script without having to redeploy AutoCAD if you ever needed. Then just set that script as the “Uninstall Command” in Intune for AutoCAD.
I’ve noticed a weird error today. All the packages that I tested that Company Portal said uninstalled correctly, and they were gone from start menu, they are all still installed in apps & features.
If you run
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product
in PowerShell are they listed there?For AutoCAD, this setup will only uninstall the AutoCAD product but leave all of the rest.
Leave Autocad and go Bricscad.
We run both but i wish i could ditch Autodesk. Bricscad package is 750mb, installs within 5 minutes. Moreover they still have network maintenance licenses.
Hey
Would you be help with Revit installation using Intune?
Hi, thanks for reaching out! What part is giving you trouble?
Hi Adam,
Thanks for the guide, worked perfectly for AutoCAD 2025!
You’re very welcome! Thanks for the heads up and so glad it helped!
First, love the walk thru. Good stuff. I am having issues finding the collections.xml. I am trying to deploy C3d 2024 and have used the online deployer from Autodesk to make the exe file, but after that, i’m at a loss. I’ve Intuned it and pushed it out, but it fails each time, but i’m only running the exe with nothing else attached. It seems like i will need a collections.xml file, but where might I find a default one to run?
Thanks! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I’m afraid I’ve never pushed out C3D. Were you able to get it working?
i am not using serial number but using subscription by signing in. will it work the same way of packaging?
Hi, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. When you go create a new package from the Custom Install menu is your license type available as an option the License Type drop down? For me, I only see Serial Number, but that’s the only kind of licensing I do.
Hi Adam, is there any way of removing some of the pre requisite software i.e. .NET 4.0 and .NET 4.50 from an Autodesk custom install to save some space when creating the intune.wim file
Hi, that’s a really interesting question. block that lists all of the dependencies to install before installing AutoCAD.
It looks like there’s a file called pkg.acadprivate.xml located in image\ACD_2024_en-US\x64 (or something similar for a different version of AutoCAD).
There’s a
In theory, I suppose you could remove lines like the following that install .NET if you’re installing .Net from an alternative source ahead of time:
(I’ve had to remove a lot of formatting, it makes WordPress unhappy)
Package installAs="core" name=".NET Windows Desktop Runtime 6.0.8" external="true" path="3rdParty/x64/dotNet/60/pkg.dotnet60.xml" upi2="{E300C5DA-870D-4FC5-B1A7-36B2FAA832B2}" upgradeCode="{F5372C46-25CE-4505-83E2-64FA71B12952}"
Package installAs="core" name=".NET Framework Runtime 4.8" external="true" path="3rdParty/dotNetFramework/48/pkg.dotnet48.xml" upi2="{8A2C37AC-AD7E-3DF8-A22D-9DC8D45F7942}" upgradeCode="{1EA91221-20E9-370E-8754-EAB3FA108D71}"
Package installAs="core" name="Microsoft ASP.NET Core 6.0.8 Shared Framework" external="true" path="3rdParty/x64/aspNetCore/60/pkg.aspnet60x64.xml" upi2="{A5AF48BC-4485-4510-9FF5-74247F3C4038}" upgradeCode="{8ED33532-1C0E-4611-AFA7-DB137D8FDDFD}"
Hope that helps. Good luck!
-Adam
Has anyone tried downloading the installer, not the deployment, and creating a powershell that runs the installer in quiet mode?
i tried this method but it does not install everything. it only installed autocad, autodesk access, autodesk geniune service, autodesk identity manager.
autodesk featured apps, autodesk app manager, autodesk save to web and mobile and autocad open in desktop are not installed