These instructions are provided to support network managers for enterprise deployment for organisations operating hot-desking environments or Cisco (server/terminal) systems.

The following explains how to set up Artisan (for AutoCAD), Artisan SL and Artisan RV (for Revit) in a Citrix environment.

Initial Installation

First step will be to install the products to each server that will host terminal sessions for your users. In all cases, the Auto Update service will need to be installed which is a simple Msi installer downloaded from the CS Design web site.

Artisan RV (Revit)

Install the latest version of the Artisan RV Revit Add-In. This is a simple Msi installer downloaded from the CS Design web site.

Artisan Classic (AutoCAD)

Install the latest version of the Artisan AutoCAD Plugin. This is a simple Msi installer downloaded from the CS Design web site.

Artisan SL2015

Run the setup program for Artisan SL2015. This is a compressed zip archive downloaded from the CS Design web site.

Configuration

The configuration of all Artisan products can be controlled via registry settings. In this case being able to:

To set the Citrix mode you need to manually set / add the following registry key:

Path:

Artisan RV - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan RV 2019

Artisan - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan 2019

Artisan SL - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan\R200\ ARSL2015-E001:409

Type: REG_DWORD

Name: CitrixMode

Values: 0 or 1

Notes:

0 will force Artisan Licensing to run in normal workstation mode. 1 will force it into Citrix mode.If the registry key doesn’t exist normal mode is assumed. To target other versions of Artisan change the last key to required, ie. 2019 to 2018 (for example).

The rest of this document assumes you have set to Citrix Mode.

With Citrix mode enabled, the licensing system will look to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry hive for licence activation settings. It also alters the respective CAD exit strategy so that the Licence can be safely de-activated without affecting other terminal sessions on that server.

The following are the Registry settings that will need manipulating (maybe via the group policy on large networks) to set the required automation. With the exception of SL2015, the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE keys would have been installed with read / write permissions for a standard windows user so there shouldn’t be any issues running the policy within the context of the logged in user.

Enable / Disable Artisan

Path:

Artisan RV - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan RV 2019

Artisan - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan 2019

Artisan SL - Not Supported

Type: REG_DWORD

Name: Enabled

Values: 0 or 1

Notes: 0 will disable the Add-In for that user, 1 will Enable the Add-In. To target other versions of Artisan change the last key as required, ie. 2019 to 2018 (for example).

Account and Licence Information

Path:

Artisan RV - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan RV 2019

Artisan - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan 2019

Artisan SL - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan\R200\ ARSL2015-E001:409

Type: REG_SZ

Name: Account Name

Values: as provided by CS Design.

Name: Licence Number

Values: as provided by CS Design.

Notes: If operating Group Policy, both these values should be blanked for non-Artisan users. It is recommended that these values be entered by an Admin (or via group policy) as a standard user may not have access or remember them.

Enable Automatic deactivation on closing Revit / AutoCAD

Path:

Artisan RV - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan RV 2019

Artisan - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan 2019

Artisan SL - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CS Design\Artisan\R200\ ARSL2015-E001:409

Type: REG_DWORD

Name: Auto Deactivate

Values: 0 or 1

Notes: 0 to KEEP product activated. 1 to deactivate. Citrix mode will explicitly set this to 1 (when the licensing form loads). This option is ignored for SL2015 if running in NON Citrix mode.

Buddy App

The Auto Update and Buddy App must be installed but the actual launch of the Buddy App should be disabled in a Citrix environment. The installer will place a start-up shortcut at:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp\CS Design Service Buddy App

Remove the shortcut to prevent the buddy app from starting at session login. The Buddy App uses local network ports used to receive commands from the local CSD Update Service. The ports can only be bound once so having multiple instances running on the same Citrix workstation would not work. The system will work fine without the buddy app running and the only thing missing will be the Auto Updates. These can be checked for periodically by an admin personnel by manually launching the buddy app and checking for updates (users will need to be logged off).

C:\Program Files (x86)\CS Design\Auto Update Service\CSD_BuddyApp.exe

Licensing Tool

The image below shows the licensing tool. It will launch at the start of every Revit / AutoCAD session provided:
  • • the current users “Enabled” reg key is set to 1 (or does not exist).
  •  the current terminal session hasn’t already been licensed (a second Revit instance in the same session would not trigger the licensing tool for example).

Note that the “Run in Citrix Environment” check box is Disabled. This setting can only be set manually through the registry. The check box visually reflects this setting.