Multiple User Installation

Installation requires more planning when there are multiple people in your office using Design Master. The main choice you have to make is whether to install Design Master to a shared network drive or to everyone's local drives. Laptops that travel need to be installed the same way in both situations.

Multiple Users, Shared Network Drive (Recommended)

It is recommended that you install Design Master to a shared network drive. It makes installing new versions and maintaining your customization files easier.

When you first install Design Master, you should select a folder on the shared network drive as its location. This folder should be on a drive that all Design Master users can access. Currently, it is necessary for everyone to have write-access permission to this folder.

Run the installer from a computer on the network that should have Design Master installed. Select the shared network folder as the install location. If you are running both HVAC and electrical, you will need to install each of them separately to their own folders.

Extract the Design Master license file to the shared network Design Master folder. If you are running both HVAC and electrical, extract it to both folders.

For the rest of the computers on the network, run the installer and select the shared network Design Master folder as the installation location. The license file only needs to be extracted once. It does not need to be extracted on each different computer.

Installing New Versions

To install a new version, run the installer on one computer. It is necessary for all Design Master users to have AutoCAD closed when this happens. Install Design Master to the shared network folder where it was first installed. The program files will be updated. Your customization files will not be overwritten or lost.

You do not need to run the installer on every computer where Design Master is installed. You do not need to run the installer from the computer on which you originally did the first installation.

Moving from a Local to a Network Install

If you previously installed Design Master to your local drive, it is possible to move it to a shared network drive.

To move from a local to a network install, find the local installation of Design Master that has all of the customization files that you want to keep. Copy the Design Master folder from this computer to a shared network drive.

For each computer with Design Master installed locally, erase the Design Master folder. Deleting these files guarantees that you will be running the network version of Design Master and not the local version.

After the local version of Design Master is erased, run the installer on all of the computers on the network. Select the shared network Design Master folder as the installation location.

Multiple Users, Local Drives (Not Recommended) or Laptops

It is not recommended that you install Design Master locally on multiple computers. It makes installing updated version and maintaining your customization files more difficult.

To install a single license of DM HVAC or Electrical, you can run the installer on your computer and accept all of your defaults. It will put all of the program files in a folder in C:\Program Files\Design Master Software\ called either HVAC or electrical.

Extract the Design Master license file to the Design Master folder. If you are running both HVAC and electrical, extract it to both folders.

Keeping Customization Synchronized

Running Design Master on multiple local drives means that you will have to manually synchronize any changes you make to the customization files.

When you make changes to the master or standards database, you should copy the updated databases to the other computers with Design Master installed. These databases are found in the Design Master folder and have MDB as their extension.

When you create new blocks, you should copy the updates blocks to all of the other computers with Design Master installed.

Installing New Versions

To install a new version, run the installer on every computer that has Design Master loaded. Make sure to have AutoCAD closed when you do this. Install Design Master to the same location that you originally installed it. The program files will be updated. Your customization files will not be overwritten or lost.

Multiple Users, Laptops

It is necessary to install Design Master locally on laptops that travel away from your network.

To install a single license of DM HVAC or Electrical, you can run the installer on your computer and accept all of your defaults. It will put all of the program files in a folder in C:\Program Files\Design Master Software\ called either HVAC or electrical.

Extract the Design Master license file to the Design Master folder. If you are running both HVAC and electrical, extract it to both folders.

Keeping Customization Synchronized

If the computers with Design Master installed is a laptop, you can simplify this process. Do not make any customization changes on a laptop. They always be made on a computer connected to the shared network folder. Periodically copy all of the files from the shared network Design Master folder to the laptop local Design Master folder.

Installing New Versions

To install a new version on a laptop, first install the new version to your shared network folder. Then, copy the entire contents of that folder to the local Design Master folder on the laptop. It is not necessary to run the installer for the new version to be installed on the laptop. This will also synchronize all of the customization files at the same time.