Addins: dealing with company proxy

[jbenoit44]

Hi,

I'm looking for some help with Revit connecting to Internet.

My company as a proxy to link the intranet to the internet. Fine. But where can I tell Revit to connect thru this proxy? IE does, why not Revit?

I asked for some help to the Factory by chat, and until know it's like screaming in Space.....

I need to connect mainly for addins that needs Internet connection for registering, or activating, or...working.

And I also need that for Vasari plugins.

FYI, I had this issue with Tekla Bimsight, and get it fixed by editing a simple xml file.


Any help will be welcomed.

[ikinks]

Same problem here. The proxy (from Sophos, don't know if that matters) blocks all traffic from programs other than internet browsers. IT department say they can't do squat about it, so it should be solved within the program itself. Strange thing is that since the Autodesk 2010 versions the activation works 'flawless' (in my case by logging into the network, again), but as the OP states plugins do not work.

[Alex Cunningham]

If your IT department is telling you they can't do squat they are either lazy or they are idiots. IT is like GOD when it comes to technology at work. They can do anything!!! It's just a matter of getting management to tell IT what needs to happen. They are in the service department. They serve you. They also don't make the company any money, thus your billable time is valuable and if they are preventing you from completing your job there will be problems with management.

They are able to temporally "unlock" the proxy filter or provide a tunnel for your computer to use for activations. This will take a lot of screaming and complaining. At some point though it's easier for them to just do it then listen to you complain.

[mdradvies]

Threaten them to use your mobile phone internet connection with USB-tethering to go completely unprotected into the www... Let's see how they like that :bb:

[jbenoit44]

Threaten them to use your mobile phone internet connection with USB-tethering to go completely unprotected into the www... Let's see how they like that :bb:

Ahahah, you got me Martijn. I did that already....;-)
But imagine the first section of the HowTo-using Revit addins:
1-buy an Iphone
2- jailbreak it
3- connect your laptop to Internet using your phone.....
It would match if we were a startup, but we're not....AEC business only.

[Matt Siebert]

Generally speaking, .NET apps (i.e. Revit Add-Ins) should automatically detect proxy settings, but I suppose it depends on the code and how the proxy is configured.

I'm no expert with proxies, but I've been told that you could try adding the following to your Revit.exe.config file:

<configuration>
  <system.net>
    <defaultProxy enabled="true">
      <proxy usesystemdefault="True" />
    </defaultProxy>
  </system.net>
</configuration>

[ikinks]

Tried to find a decent solution the last few weeks for this proxy issue, and although I don't have a working solution, I'm now for a 99% sure were to look for it.

Turns out the proxy indeed seems to be the problem, more specific when this proxy uses NTLM authentification. 3rd party programs (other than M$) usually don't have a working solution implemented, besides the Autodesk products I also notice the same non-behavior for i.e. Dropbox, Teamview. Weird thing is that Autodesk 123D Catch works flawless on the company system.

So, in my opinion, three things can be done:
1. force the software houses to implement code so that the NTLM handshake protocol works within the programs;
2. throw that old company proxy out of the penthouse window and get a new, decent one;
3. use NTLMaps, a Python script based program that fakes the protocol. Haven't got this thing working for Revit, though.

[MPwuzhere]

I used to have this issue when I was working with ISA Server...I would temporarily connect my computer to the DMZ to gain access to what I needed then plug back into the local network. But blocking all programs from accessing the internet screams "USING UNLICENSED/PIRATED SOFTWARE".

[ikinks]

Well, I can confirm that the Autodesk software we use ain't unlicensed or a pirate copy. We've got 5 Revit seats for 5 workstations, so that shouldn't be it. After all, Dropbox (which I believe is a free or freeware program) came up with the idea that our corporate network uses NTLM for it's proxy server.