Multiple Autodesk Inventor instances open when opening Inventor and ...

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A new Instance of Autodesk Inventor opens when, despite one active session was already running: • Double-clicking on Autodesk Inventor file (IPT, IAM, IDW, DWG, IPN) in Windows Explorer or Autodesk Vault Client. • Import CAD (STP, IGES, PRT, STEP...) files. • Opening a file by Autodesk Vault Explorer. • Opening file with "View in Window" in Autodesk Vault Client. Other symptoms: • After registration DWG file to AutoCAD DWG Launcher, it starts to open as DWG TrueView new instance. Solution: Use one of the following: To open other CAD files(STEP, IGES ,PRT,STP) without starting additional Autodesk Inventor instances: 1\. Start Autodesk Inventor. 2\. Locate the Siemens NX part file in Windows File Explorer. 3\. Drag the PRT file onto the title bar of the open Autodesk Inventor window. 4\. The file is opened in the existing Inventor instance. Make sure the file types (.IPT, .IAM, .IDW, .IPN) are associated with the correct version of Autodesk Inventor: 1. Locate any .ipt (or .iam, .idw) file within File Explorer. 2. Right Mouse Button Click it. 3. Choose "Open With..." from context menu. 3. Even if it already set to open with Inventor, scroll down and select "More Apps" option. 4. Flag "Always use this app to open. files". 5. Choose "Look for another application on this PC". 6. Browse to the C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\Inventor 20XX\\Bin and select Inventor.exe. 7. Restart Inventor and Vault to check if it opens within the same instance. Make sure the file type .DWG (even Inventor .DWG) associated with AutoCAD DWG launcher: Note: More information, see DWG file type associativity in Windows for AutoCAD. 1. Right Mouse Button click Inventor .DWG drawing. 2. Press "Open with...". 3. Select a new app icon or "Choose another app". 4. Flag "Always use this app to open.dwg files" text menu. 5. Click "Choose another app". 6. Choose "AutoCAD DWG Launcher" and Press OK. Note: If after registration to Launcher it started to open a new instance of DWG TrueView, then edit the Windows registry. See Double-clicking or opening a DWG file starts a new instance of AutoCAD product. Changing registration with Registry Keys: | Warning: Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer operating system unusable. Microsoft® provides a wealth of critical information that you need to know about the registry in the Microsoft® Knowledge Base at Miscrosoft Support. Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor only at your own risk and only after backing up the registry as well as the system.dat and user.dat files. As outlined for your operating system in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and in the related solution, TS66513. Additional information about the registry is also contained in the Help topics in the Microsoft® Registry Editor. | If all the previous steps did not help, this behavior could be caused by an improper setting of the following Registry Keys: 1. In the Start menu of Microsoft Windows, type regedit and press Enter on keyboard. 2. If the following window shows up, click Yes. 3. Go to the following path: ``` HKEYCLASSESROOT\Inventor.PartDocument/SHELL/open/command ``` 4. Under this key, the (Default) value should be showing the path to Inventor.exe with /dde at the end. The value should be similar to this string: C:\\program files\\Autodesk\\InventorVersion\\bin\ inventor.exe /dde ``` HKEYCLASSESROOT\Inventor.PartDocument/SHELL/open/ddexec ``` Under folder "ddeexec", the (Default) string key should be set to: \[open("%1")\] Note: Other files types, like Assembly .IAM, can also contain the wrong values in related registry keys and should be changed with similar steps. Autodesk Inventor sets automatically registry values on Start-up • Autodesk Inventor Assembly .IAM ``` HKEYCLASSESROOT\Inventor.AssemblyDocument\SHELL\open ``` • Autodesk Inventor Drawing .IDW ``` HKEYCLASSESROOT\Inventor.DrawingDocument ``` • Autodesk Inventor Part .IPT ``` HKEYCLASSESROOT\Inventor.PartDocument ``` • Autodesk Inventor Presentation .IPN ``` HKEYCLASSESROOT\Inventor.PresentationDocument ``` Note: To solve the issue, sign in as the Local Administrator of the machine and start Autodesk Inventor. Otherwise, with a Local Administrator user, modify this Registry Keys as explained earlier. In case, after having applied the steps above, the issue still persists, try to change this in the registries: 1. Browse to: 2. HKEY\CURRENT\USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\FileExts\\.ipt 3. Delete the subfolder “ UserChoice” from the above registry branch. 4. Repeat the procedure for any file type. Change extension as appropriate. • Reset to the Microsoft recommended default apps: 1. Go to Windows Settings (Windows Start-> Settings). 2. Select Apps from the main menu. 3. Choose Default Apps (Options on the left side). 4. Click on RESET button. After assigning or resetting the file types in Windows try to set the Open File Behaviors in the Autodesk Vault Client for Autodesk Inventor file types and DWG file types to Default by following these steps: • 1. In the Autodesk Vault Client > Click Tools > Options. 2. Click Settings... > Open file behavior settings option. 3. Change the Behavior for Inventor and AutoCAD > Default > OK. 4. Confirm the changes with OK. If all above solutions don't work consider creating a new "Windows local admin account profile": For information about create a new Windows local admin account profile, see Create a local user or administrator account in Windows. If that does not work, perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of Autodesk Inventor and Autodesk Vault: For information about how to do a clean uninstall and reinstall for Inventor and Vault, see Perform a clean uninstall of Inventor. Note: As this is a regular Microsoft Windows mechanism (DDE), it may happen that "sometimes" a new instance of a process is created (instead of using the existing one) when the process is not able to answer the internal Windows request. This can happen when the application is busy with long-lasting tasks. So, avoid using double-click action in Windows Explorer or Autodesk Vault if the application that should open the file is unresponsive. Wait for the application to react again and then open the file by double-click. See Also: • How to Re-Regestring Inventor • How to re-register Inventor via Command Prompt • How to create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10 • Miscrosoft Support • Inventor starts a new instance when opening a file from the Vault client • New instance of Inventor read-only mode opened when opening another file from Vault Products: AutoCAD; Inventor Products; Vault Products; Was this information helpful? YesNo Need help? Ask the Autodesk Assistant! The Assistant can help you find answers or contact an agent. Ask the Assistant What level of support do you have? Different subscription plans provide distinct categories of support. Find out the level of support for your plan. View levels of support ADSK Web Analytics Foundation Cross-Domain Solution Web Analytics Foundation Analytics Domain Solution (WADS) ... DCOM based Universal Assistant