It is nearly that time again and Autodesk will be releasing their new software in about a month or 2.  With Inventor this is always a bit of a process to be followed. A process that if not followed can lead to moans and groans from you CAD Team.  So what needs to be done?

Whenever I upgrade a company from one version to another it will probably involve Autodesk Vault.  So with this in mind, the very first thing to do is backup. Please, please please. You do not want years of work vanishing because of a glitch.

After the backup is done, it is time to upgrade to the next version with all the updates installed as well.  There is an advanced configuration guide that Autodesk offers for this or you can get your local reseller to assist. Next up is the upgrading of all the Inventor, AutoCAD and Vault client software with all updates.

Following that is the migration of Templates (ipt, iam and idw/dwg)and any design data that you have modified.  If this is not the case then you can use the default design data out the box.

If you are using older design data which you have been migrating through the years, please remember to compare it with the new design data form the version you are installing to.  This will help you to incorporate the newest features and design data that Autodesk introduces in their later versions which were not available when you started your Inventor Journey.

Once this is done you can test and make the necessary tweaks and then you are good to go with your latest version of Autodesk software.