DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

DraftSight Professional
Installation and
Product Activation Quick Guide

3DS.COM
3DS.COM Dassault Dassault Systmes
Systmes

Version 1.0 - 3/10/2016

Written by: L. Fernandes

Validated by: Name
Edited by: Steve Holland
DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

Summary
The purpose of this guide is to provide all DraftSight users with a quick
reference to help when installing and activating the DraftSight Professional
software.

Note that the product activation process requires information that you will
receive from other sources.

Be aware that links and or access paths to other platforms might change in the
future. If you have trouble with product installation or activation, please refer to
the support contacts provided.

Before starting the installation process, make sure that your system and
environment comply with the minimum system requirements.

For more information about the application or about specific processes or

functionality, please refer to the applications Help files or to the DraftSight
Community (https://swym.3ds.com/DraftSight).

For usability and ease of access, this guide does not include exhaustive
information or images for every step of the installation and activation process.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

Contents
1. Welcome to DraftSight Professional ................................................................................ 4
2. Preparing for Installation .................................................................................................... 4
What you need : ................................................................................................................. 4
Review the prerequisites for installing the DraftSight software ......................................... 4
Administrative Permissions ................................................................................................ 4
3. Installing the DraftSight Software ....................................................................................... 5
4. Product Activation ............................................................................................................... 8
DraftSight Professional Product Activation ........................................................................ 8
5. FAQs and Troubleshooting.............................................................................................. 11
What is DraftSight Professional? ..................................................................................... 11
How do I renew my subscription? .................................................................................... 11
What if I do not renew my subscription? .......................................................................... 11
What if I require technical support?.................................................................................. 12
Can I use DraftSight Professional on more than one computer? .................................... 12
Where can I find the DraftSight Professional installation files? ....................................... 12
My computer broke down: I am not able to transfer DraftSight to a different computer . 12

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After upgrading hardware, the DraftSight Professional software stopped working......... 13
After installing the latest DraftSight version, the DraftSight Professional software
stopped working ....................................................................................................................... 13
Where can I find information about the functionality available? ...................................... 13
DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

1. Welcome to DraftSight Professional

This quick guide covers the process for installing the DraftSight software on a supported
Windows operating system. The guide also covers DraftSight Professional product
activation. The guide presents the complete process in two steps:

Installing or updating the DraftSight software on a supported Windows operating

system (OS)
Activating the DraftSight Professional software

If the DraftSight Free software is already installed on your computer, you can proceed
directly to Product Activation on page 8.

2. Preparing for Installation

What you need :

o The DraftSight installation files

o A DraftSight Professional serial number

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Note: You can download the DraftSight installation files from the DraftSight product page at
http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight/download-draftsight/.

To guarantee a successful installation, before starting the process, it is important that you
review the system requirements and understand the administrative permission requirements.
Consider the following points:

Review the prerequisites for installing the DraftSight software

Make sure that the computers on which you are going to install the DraftSight software
comply with the minimum system requirements. Noncompliance with the system
requirements or supported platforms might cause performance problems or errors when
using the DraftSight application. You can review the system requirements on the DraftSight
web page at http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/latest-version/.

Note: The DraftSight Professional software is only available for Windows platforms.

Administrative Permissions
Make sure that the user account that performs the installation has administrative
permissions to install and run the application. If required, create the necessary (Security)
exceptions. Ideally, you will install the application using an elevated account (even if you
grant permissions temporarily).

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

3. Installing the DraftSight Software

This section describes a typical installation and places emphasis on certain points that you
must keep in mind before and during the installation. To install the DraftSight software, follow
these steps:

1. Download the DraftSight installation file from

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/download-draftsight/.
If there is an existing installation and activation of the DraftSight Free version, you
can skip steps 2 through 10 of this process, and proceed directly to Product
Activation on page 8.

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Note: There are different installation files for the 64-bit and 32-bit platforms. Make
sure that you download the appropriate installation file. We recommend that you save
a copy of the installation file for future use.

2. When you click to download the installation file, the DraftSight License and
Subscription Service Agreement page appears. Scroll to the end of page and click
OK to accept the agreement. The download will then start.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide
3. When the download is complete, locate the installation file on your computer, and
double-click on the file to start the installation process.
4. To start the installation, click Run.

5. On the Welcome page of the DraftSight Installation wizard, select the DraftSight
version that you want to install, and then click Next.

6. Follow the on screen instructions to install the software. 3DS.COM Dassault Systmes

7. When prompted, you must accept the End User License Agreement to complete the
installation.

If the DraftSight is currently installed and activated on the computer, a message will appear
reminding you that if you are upgrading or replacing the computer, you must first transfer
your current license. If you are performing an update to the DraftSight software and will
continue to use DraftSight on this computer, you can disregard the warning and proceed with
the installation.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

8. Click Yes to proceed.

9. If the DraftSight software is currently installed on the computer, the Migration
Assistance dialog box appears. This page allows you to select which settings to keep
from any previous DraftSight installations.

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10. Press OK to proceed, and complete the installation.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

4. Product Activation
After purchasing the DraftSight Professional software, you will receive a confirmation in
email with the purchase details. This email message will contain your DraftSight Professional
license key as indicated by the red arrow in the following image.

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You will use this license key to activate your product.

Note: If you need to contact the Technical Support Team for any reason, always
include your license key in the correspondence.

DraftSight Professional Product Activation

To activate the DraftSight Professional software, you must first install and activate the
DraftSight Free version. Some environments or configurations may require additional steps
for activation. If the computer is a member of a network, contact your IT Department or
network administrator to make sure that all conditions are in place for a successful
activation. The following postings in the DraftSight Community contain helpful tips for
troubleshooting activation and licensing:

Free Version. Windows Activation. What to Expect.

o (https://swym.3ds.com/#post:26516)
Activation and licensing models incl. troubleshooting tips
o (https://swym.3ds.com/#post:2775)
DraftSight Standalone License Activation - a Walkthrough with Troubleshooting Tips
o (https://swym.3ds.com/#post:15336)

To activate the DraftSight Professional installation:

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide
1. Open the DraftSight application. In the Help menu, select the option Activate
DraftSight Professional.

Note: Depending on which layout view appears, the Help menu appears in different
places as depicted in the following images.

Location of the Help menu in the Drafting and Annotation layout:

Location of the Help menu in the Classic layout:

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The SolidWorks Product Activation wizard appears.

2. Type the serial number for your DraftSight Professional license and then click Next.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide
3. Select your activation method, type your contact information, and then click Next.

4. The activation wizard sends the information to the SOLIDWORKS Activation Server
for validation.
5. Upon validation, a message appears informing you of successful activation.

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6. Click Finish, and then restart the DraftSight application.

Note: When you open the DraftSight application, there are no changes to the splash
screen that indicate you are running the DraftSight Professional software. Within the
DraftSight Professional user interface, you will notice a few changes including the
availability of new features and options. If you want to verify that the installation
process was successful, look for the new API & LISP Help and DraftSight Premium
Help options under the Help menu.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

5. FAQs and Troubleshooting

What is DraftSight Professional?
The DraftSight Professional application is a subscription product that provides:

Enhanced functionality that is not available in the DraftSight Free version. Examples
include the ToolBox, DrawCompare, and API features
Access to the DraftSight API
Access to Technical Support for Installation and Licensing issues
Entitlement to Service Packs and future software releases

The DraftSight Professional subscription is valid for one year from the date of purchase.

How do I renew my subscription?

When purchasing the product, you can select the option to renew your subscription
automatically on each anniversary.

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If you do not select this option, you can also use the Renew DraftSight Professional option
that is available in the DraftSight Help menu:

What if I do not renew my subscription?

The DraftSight Professional subscription is valid for one year from the date of purchase.
However, the DraftSight Professional license is perpetual. This means that if you do not
renew a subscription that expires, you can continue to use the currently installed
version of DraftSight Professional and the features that apply to that version.
However, when your subscription expires, you will lose entitlement to new releases and
service packs. Upgrading your DraftSight installation after expiration of your subscription
installs the DraftSight Free version. As long as you do not update the DraftSight
software after your subscription expires, there will be no impact to the installed
application.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

What if I require technical support?

You can report Installation and Licensing issues to the DraftSight Technical Support
Team. Support contact information is provided in the email/receipt that you receive at the
time of purchase. You can obtain Extended/Full Support with the purchase of DraftSight
Prosumer Services.

For issues that relate to product functionality, the support platform will be the DraftSight
Community.

For issues that relate to the Purchase / Order process, please contact the Cleverbridge
Support Team.

Technical Support and Order Processing Support contacts can be found in the email
that contains the DraftSight Professional serial number that you receive at the time of
purchase. When contacting the support teams, always include your DraftSight Professional
serial number.

Can I use DraftSight Professional on more than one computer?

Under the current licensing model, you can only activate the DraftSight Professional
software on one computer at any given time. However, you may need to use the product on
a different computer on a temporary basis, or if you replace a computer.

To enable the Transfer of the activation, use the option Transfer Activation of
DraftSight Professional.

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Go to the Help menu > Transfer Activation of DraftSight Professional.

Before attempting to activate your license key on the new computer, you must use the
Transfer option, from the computer on which the license key is currently activated. Failing to
do this will cause the activation on the new computer to fail.

Note: Please keep in mind that the objective of the Transfer activation option is not
to emulate a floating licensing such as is available for the DraftSight Enterprise
software. The number of activation Transfers for DraftSight Professional is currently
limited to 100 transfers.

Where can I find the DraftSight Professional installation files?

The different DraftSight versions (Free, Professional, and Enterprise) share the same
installation file. During the installation process, users select the product that they want to
install. The installation is validated locally by the activation method that corresponds to the
product, as described earlier in this document.

The only method of distribution for the DraftSight product is via the Dassault Systemes
DraftSight product page at:

http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/free-download/

My computer broke down: I am not able to transfer DraftSight to a

different computer
In this case, it is possible to disable the computer to allow activation of the product on other
computer. Contact the DraftSight Technical Support Team to report the failure. Include
your DraftSight Professional serial number and request the computer disablement.

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DraftSight Professional Installation and Product Activation Quick Guide

After upgrading hardware, the DraftSight Professional software

stopped working
For licensing purposes, the DraftSight software generates information based on the local
hardware and OS configuration. Some operations like upgrades or replacement of the OS or
hardware can affect this information and cause the licensing to fail. To prevent any issues,
the DraftSight Technical Support team recommends that you use the Transfer
Activation functionality prior to performing any of these operations. After completing
these operations, you only need to reactivate the product on the new computer. If you
perform any of the operations mentioned, and then lose access to the product, please
contact the DraftSight Technical Support Team. Support contacts can be found in the
email that contains the DraftSight Professional serial number that you receive at the time of
purchase. When contacting the support teams, always include your DraftSight
Professional serial number.

After installing the latest DraftSight version, the DraftSight

Professional software stopped working
This issue typically occurs when the DraftSight Professional subscription has expired. Keep
in mind that entitlement to version updates and service packs applies only while the
subscription is valid. Prior to installing a new version or service pack, make sure that your
subscription is valid. To recover the DraftSight Professional functionality in the event that
your subscription is expired, and you have installed a more recent version or service pack
(with DraftSight reverting to the DraftSight Free version), you must:

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To use a more recent version, you must renew your DraftSight Professional subscription.
See the question How do I renew my subscription? earlier in this document.
To revert to a previous installation of the product, you must uninstall the DraftSight
software and then reinstall the product by using the installation file that corresponds to
the version that was available when the subscription expired.

Where can I find information about the functionality available?

Product installation adds information to the standard Help files. A new set of options will be
available from the product Help menu. The new options include the DraftSight Premium
Help, which contains information about the product specific features, and the DraftSight
API & Lisp Help. We recommend in particular the information available under the
Contents tab as a learning resource. You can find other documentation and information
in:

The DraftSight Community

(https://swym.3ds.com/DraftSight), and
The DraftSight Resource Center
(http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/resources/)

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