Fabrication “Edit Configuration” Utility Documentation

I’ve added documentation for thee Autodesk Fabrication Edit Configuration utility to the site. You can find it here or in the Fabrication menu.

This utility is fairly misleading. Because it prompts for a Database Configuration, most people think the settings apply to the selected configuration. While some of the settings are saved in the MAP.INI and therefor specific to a database configuration, not all are. Many are saved in the Windows Registry.

How Settings Work

Settings stored in the registry need to be made for each program, program version and user. That is, if you make changes to settings stored in the registry using CADmep, they only apply for CADmep. If you’re using ESTmep, you need to make the changes there too. Additionally, if you use the utility that ships with the 2020 version of CADmep, they won’t apply in the 2021 version of CADmep without making the changes there too. Lastly, the only apply for the user who is currently logged in. Log in as another user and all those settings needs to be changed again.

This is the reason I typically make the changes directly using registry edits or automation that imports the registry changes. This allows me to ensure I’ve not missed anything and that they get set no matter the user.

Edit Configuration Utility Tricks

The Edit Configuration utility itself is confusing. The utility ships with each Fabrication Program (CADmep, ESTmep, CAMduct, CAMduct Components, Remote Entry and Tracker). The same utility will present slightly different options depending which folder it is run from. And to add to the confusion, the shortcuts are all named identically.

To make it easier, I go to the folder with the shortcuts and rename them. From “Edit Configuration” to “Edit Config (CAD21)” and similar. This helps me know which program I’m calling the utility for.

Even if you don’t edit the MAP.INI file or Windows Registry directly and instead use the utility the documentation is helpful for letting you know where the settings are stored. This helps you know how to edit them to your needs.

Updated From Prior Documentation

If you’ve attended any of my prior Autodesk University or MEP Force conference presentation, you may already have a copy of this documentation. However, I’d encourage you to use the version I’ve posted no this site. Not only did I add information for the CAMduct Components, Remote Entry, Tracker and Fab Review applications, I’ve also fixed some errors and typos in the prior existing data.

Fabrication 2020.1 Update Released

Autodesk has released update 2020.1 for Autodesk Fabrication products CADmep, CAMduct and ESTmep. You can see the small token list of fixes here.

Really not much in the way of fixing the many legacy, multi-release defects that have been piling up. Still no word on the update to plug the security hole in Revit where you’re COST/LABOR data can be mined by others.

One thing to note about this release, it’s not an “Update” that patches your existing system. The Update requires a full install. That means that 2020 versions of CADmep, ESTmep, CAMduct as well as Tracker, CAMduct Components and Remote Entry need to be removed first.

I would NOT recommend installing the update from the Autodesk Desktop App. I’ve tested on multiple systems both personal and corporate and it gets hung indefinitely on the uninstall of the 2020 versions.

If you do want to install the update, I highly recommend uninstalling yourself before adding the 2020.1 versions. Even manual uninstalls of 2020 have been hit or miss. If they hang, they’re usually already uninstalled and using Task Manager to cancel the running MSIEXEC tasks is enough to finish the uninstalls. Best of luck!

Fabrication 2018.3 & 2019.1 Updates Available….Again.

After a very brief appearance toward the end of October, the Fabrication updates for 2018.3 and 2019.1 are back on line as of today.

Unlike previously speculated, they were not removed due to issues. They were intended to be released later but were inadvertently released early. If you happened to have them from their initial release, you don’t need to download the update again, the build numbers did not change. However, the PDF documentation of fixed issues on some of them did get more information listed in what was fixed. You can review all the issues addressed here…