Compare New & Classic User Management in Autodesk Account

The Autodesk Account website is where you manage your Autodesk subscriptions, assign users software seats and cloud services. There are two user management systems for Autodesk Accounts.

To understand the differences between the new user management (by user/by product) and classic user management, you can read the article below and watch this short video.

How do you know if your users are managed in classic user management? Subscriptions purchased online are typically managed by product or by user, and subscriptions and maintenance plans purchased through Autodesk or Microsol Resources, are typically managed in classic user management.

If you see Classic User Management in Autodesk Account, you can manage people By User, By Product, and in Classic User Management. This occurs when you have a mix of products:

• Products with single-user and multi-user access,
• Products purchased at different times, or
• Products purchased online and from a reseller.

The key differences between the two views include:

• Separate user lists
• Sign in to activate
• Different administrative roles
• Assign access by user or product
• Seats are pooled
• Moving subscriptions with single-user access

Separate user lists

The by product/by user list and the classic user management list are independent of one another. To make users available on both lists, they must be added to both.

• By user/By product – When you add people by user or by product, they are not added to classic user management.
• Classic user management – When you add people in classic user management, they are not added to the by product/by user list.

Sign in to activate

Product activation is easier for users assigned by product/by user:

• By user/by product – Sign in using your Autodesk Account email to activate.
• Classic user management – Enter a serial number to activate.

Different administrative roles

The by product/by user list and the classic user management list have different administrative roles as shown in the table below. For a detailed comparison of the different administrative roles, see How to Set up Admin Roles in Autodesk Account.

By user and by product user management admin roles

You can have one primary admin and unlimited secondary and SSO admins, and they are not managed by serial number.

Classic user management admin roles

In classic user management, there is only one contract manager and one software coordinator. The purchaser of the subscription is initially designated as the contract manager, but the role can be reassigned later. The contract manager assigns a software coordinator to help manage users.

Assign access by user or product

In the by product/by user list, you can assign people by user or product. In the classic view, you can only assign products by user.

By user and by product user management

Admins can assign people by user or by product, rather than contract. So you don’t have to track which subscription users are assigned.

• By user – Select someone from the user list to manage their product access. See Assign products and services to users.
• By product – Select a product from the product list to assign users. The product list shows the number of users assigned to that product and the number of seats available. Click a product to view the assigned users and add more. See Assign users by product.

Classic user management

In classic user management, you can only assign by user (select someone from the user list to assign a product). Also, users are tied to a contract, but not a specific serial number. See Assign products & services in classic user management.

Seats are pooled

In the by product/by user list, seats are pooled for multiple subscriptions making it easier to manage seats. In classic user management, seats are tied to a contract.

• By user/By product user management – If a subscription expires, assigned users do not lose access if there are seats available on another subscription.
• Classic user management – If a contract expires, users lose access and are deleted from the user list, even if there are seats available on another contract. Move assigned users to a different contract before it expires so they don’t lose access. See Remove users in classic user management.

Moving subscriptions with single-user access

Autodesk is in the process of migrating all subscriptions with single-user access to the new user management system (by user or by product). Afterward, only users with a mix of single-user and multi-user (network) subscriptions will manage users in both places.

If you still have unanswered questions or need help with setting up your Autodesk Account, you can reach out to our technical support team. Our team is here to help.

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