Autodesk Educational Products Watermark

I downloaded an office chair block from CAD Block Exchange Network. I did not understand the 'Student Version...Plot Stamp' message when I put it in with a group of office furniture blocks I had collected. I soon realized what the message meant and deleted the block and purged. Now anything from that collection of blocks creates a 'Student...' plot stamp. What can I do to undo this? I can't afford to get rid of all the other blocks...they all seem to be 'contaminated'. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Steve A

Any drawing created in the EDU version of AutoCAD is going to bring along this stamp. Get rid of any content that includes it and any drawing into which this content was inserted.

Yes, I did that...deleted and purged the 1 item inserted. It didn't help.

There are some sketchy ways in which to remove the Autodesk educational watermark, but I won't relay those methods here as I think it is unethical. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The bad news is that any file, block, x-ref, etc. that comes into contact with that "watermarked" file will become "watermarked." It becomes a domino effect at that point, because any of those initially "tainted" files will do just as much damage to other clean files that the original "watermarked" file did. Don't do anything with those files what-so-ever. Quarantine any affected files.

The good news is that you can send these "tainted" files to your reseller and/or Autodesk directly with a pleed for help and potentially have them returned with a clean bill of health. This process isn't fool-proof. You'll need to prove Autodesk that you have a valid license for whichever product you are using and make an argument for your "ignorance" in not knowing any better when you downloaded the "watermarked" file. Autodesk and/or your reseller may choose to not "clean" these affected files for you...it is at their discretion, but you don't have much choice unless you go about it in unethical ways or start from scratch.

Good luck. I hope you are able to find a solution.

Thanks for the reply. I was kind of thinking that was the case. I have now resurrected the automatic save file from before this fiasco began. Lost 2 hrs work, have a contaminated file and will have to white out 20 sheets. An expensive mistake, thank goodness it was a small kitchen.
Thanks for the info.

Steve A

You should still contact your Adesk reseller to let them know that you found it and where you found it. If it was posted by a vendor or part mfr, Adesk would love to "Solve" the issue.
We have a very large (5000+sheet) set get contaminated because the block the mfr sent us was created with a Ed version. Needless to say, that consultant no longer owns a consulting firm. I'd also contact the host site so they remove that content so others don't have your issue. It's no fun trying to clean up 5000+ drawings and be stuck at the mercy of your reseller. Get on their good side.
Just my 2 cents.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by essay655

Yes, I did that...deleted and purged the 1 item inserted. It didn't help.

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Notice I did not say "purge and delete", I said "Get rid of"...
I should have been more clear. What I meant was delete the entire drawing

To further explain rk's point.
Delete the drawing/block you that downloaded. Remove it from your system, delete it from any temp files...... Those kind of drawings are like the plague. Once they touch something, it's infected. Kinda like a bad virus, or harder to get rid of.

Also, please contact CBEN and let them know!! There may be a way to globally scan a set of files and id which have been created with the Educational Only version