Autodesk Virtual Agent (AVA)

Got Autodesk questions? Ask AVA!

What is AVA and how can it help? AVA (Autodesk Virtual Agent) is available for any person that may have questions, problems, or needs pertaining to the wide range of Autodesk products. AVA can even help those that do not have access to an Autodesk Account – granted, most of the things AVA can do for you will require you to sign into your Autodesk Account. If you don’t have one, there is the “Create Account” link for you to set one up. But what if you have an account and don’t want to make one? Well, that limits the options that can be accomplished with this exercise – most of the links in the “Quick Links” dropdown require one to sign in.

After navigating to the site ava.autodesk.com, one is greeted with a warm welcome – “Hi, I’m Autodesk Assistant. Please provide a detailed description of your issue. The more information you provide, the better I can help you.” Type your question at the bottom of the box, where you’ll see another short message – “Enter your issue here. Be as detailed as possible.” Issues with any product can be frustrating, but AVA is there to help you get through your troubles.

If you are having issues with an install or problem with your product, you only need to type in in a description of what is happening. If you are getting an error message, you can just enter the error your product is giving you. For most inquiries with regards to troubleshooting, you’ll get several options to choose from in the form of a list of hyperlinks that will take you to a new webpage, typically an Autodesk Knowledge site.

At any point on the AVA site, you have access to the “Quick Links” drop down in the top right corner of the page. Let’s take a look at the “Quick Links” dropdown to see what’s available and what each link will do once you click through them!

1. “Download Autodesk Products”

After clicking on this, if you are not signed into the site, you will be directed to do so. You’ll be given a few options with regards to the license you currently have. You can also get to this by typing “download” into the text box at the beginning. The Educator option will take you to the appropriate site to get an education license.

2. “Updates”

Here, you will be redirected to manage.autodesk.com/products/updates so you can download the appropriate updates (this will require you to sign in). You have a few options depending on how many updates you’re looking for. If you’re only looking for one update, just locate your product update and click the “Download” button on the right. For more than
one update, select all the updates you’d like and
click the “Download” button in the small popup at
thebottom of the screen.

3. “Get Activation Code”

This is an item that is more than likely going away. You would click here to get an activation code for the use of older products purchased in the past. This will take you to a new page where you can determine whether or not you even need an activation code. The reason this may be disappearing is that the new Standalone Sign In versions are the way of the future for Autodesk products, and the Perpetual licenses will no longer be supported. Autodesk will only “support” the current version and three previous versions. There will be no updates or activation codes for anything before that.

4. “Get Home Use License”

This takes you to yet another site. It explains why you would need a Home Use License: “If you have products with multi-user access or a maintenance plan with a network license.”

5. “Lookup Product Key”

This is one of the things you can do whether you have an Autodesk Account or not. Here, you can look up the 5-digit product key that may be required in order to do certain things. This is pretty easy to navigate. Just start by typing in the product (ex. Inventor Professional), where you’ll get options of which version to click through. When you choose your version, the response will be the product code specific to that version of the product.

6. “Change Contract Manager”

This will take you to an “Account Management” Page where you can learn about different roles and the steps of transferring the assignment to a new user.

7. “Change Company Name & Address”

This last option will pop up a link within the chat window that will take you to a different “Account Management” Page to walk you through the steps of updating your company’s information.

If you have other questions that you’d like to get some assistance with, you can click the “Start Over” button at the top to clear the conversation and start a new one.

And if AVA can’t help, reach out to us, your Helpdesk support team at Synergis! Call, email, or log a support ticket HERE. Don’t have a Helpdesk contract? Contact your Account Manager and get the plan that’s right for you for access to unlimited support from Synergis Helpdesk.

By: Rob Windsor, Helpdesk Technician, Synergis Technologies, LLC.