{"id":82405,"date":"2022-07-18T18:23:10","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T18:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/designalive.com\/?post_type=faq&#038;p=82405"},"modified":"2025-09-02T01:53:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T01:53:02","slug":"software-guidance-and-support","status":"publish","type":"faq","link":"https:\/\/designalive.com\/faq\/software-guidance-and-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Software download guidance and support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-pb-accordion-item c-accordion__item js-accordion-item no-js\" data-initially-open=\"false\" data-click-to-close=\"true\" data-auto-close=\"true\" data-scroll=\"false\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\"><h4 id=\"at-824054\" class=\"c-accordion__title js-accordion-controller\" role=\"button\">Which Software do I need for my course?<\/h4><div id=\"ac-824054\" class=\"c-accordion__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>AutoCAD Course <\/strong>&#8211; AutoCAD<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Revit Course <\/strong>&#8211; Revit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Interior Design Course<\/strong> &#8211; AutoCAD<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Graphic Fundamentals, Graphics Empower or Graphic Mastery<\/strong> <strong>Course <\/strong>&#8211; Adobe Creative Cloud Pro (Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Motion Mastery Course <\/strong>&#8211; Adobe Creative Cloud Pro (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Web Design<\/strong> <strong>or UX UI <\/strong>&#8211; You do not need to download any program prior to the course start, your teachers will guide you through downloading Figma.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digital Illustration<\/strong> &#8211; Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop (Creative Cloud Pro), (Clip studio will downloaded later in the course)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Find below step-by-step instructions to download the software.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-pb-accordion-item c-accordion__item js-accordion-item no-js\" data-initially-open=\"false\" data-click-to-close=\"true\" data-auto-close=\"true\" data-scroll=\"false\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\"><h4 id=\"at-824055\" class=\"c-accordion__title js-accordion-controller\" role=\"button\"><strong>Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Download<\/strong><\/h4><div id=\"ac-824055\" class=\"c-accordion__content\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You will need to download Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign for Graphic Fundamentals, Graphics Empower, and Graphic Mastery Course.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Premiere and After Effects for Motion Graphics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The only legal way to obtain the software is via the Adobe.com subscriptions which give you to use&nbsp;<strong>all&nbsp;<\/strong>the Adobe software online.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adobe.com do not offer the option to buy it outright any longer.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Anyone who offers to install it on your computer (for free or for a minimal charge) is likely to be installing a copied version.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Instructions:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sign up for a monthly subscription to\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adobe.com\/creativecloud\/buy\/students.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Adobe Creative Cloud Pro<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The student edition of Adobe Creative Cloud Pro costs $29.99 (or \u00a319.99) per month for the first year (price will be different for subsequent years).\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To sign up for the student edition, you will be asked for the name and address of your school. Please note that Design Alive does not appear on the list of schools on their website, and it is usually sufficient to write&nbsp;<em>Design Alive, Manchester UK<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you require a student letter, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/designalive.com\/faq\/request-a-student-letter-here\/\">request a student letter here<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adobe\u2019s US number for purchase by phone is 800-585-0774.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-pb-accordion-item c-accordion__item js-accordion-item no-js\" data-initially-open=\"false\" data-click-to-close=\"true\" data-auto-close=\"true\" data-scroll=\"false\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\"><h4 id=\"at-824056\" class=\"c-accordion__title js-accordion-controller\" role=\"button\"><strong>Autodesk Download Instructions<\/strong> (Autodesk\/Revit)<\/h4><div id=\"ac-824056\" class=\"c-accordion__content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">AutoCad and Revit Download Instructions:<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Before you download:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"color: initial;\">You will need to make an account with&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/education\/free-software\/featured\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Autodesk.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You will need a student letter to download the software, please use this form to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/designalive.com\/faq\/request-a-student-letter-here\/\">request a student letter.<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check your computer has the correct specs needed. We recommend consulting with a competent computer technician who can advise you. We have been advised that an i9 processor minimum is needed as well as a graphics card but feel free to ask advice on this. For more specific specs check&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/products\/creative-video-editing-laptops\/ci\/35807?sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&amp;filters=fct_a_filter_by%3A03_INSTOCK%2Cfct_graphic-card-type_968%3Adedicated%2Cfct_price%3ANaN..1600%2Cfct_ram_965%3A16gb%7C32gb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not download the 30-day trial as you will have to uninstall the trial once your 30 days expire and reinstall the student version as per these instructions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MAC users<\/strong>: <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use Chrome to download AutoCad NOT Safari.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"color: initial;\">While AutoCad is available in both PC and Mac platforms, since the instructor teaches on a PC, Mac users should be aware that the interface on a Mac is different and the program icons are located in different places.  We do give cheat sheets to help you with the differences but it will require extra time until you are familiar with the differences especially at the beginning of the course. Some students install the PC version (on a virtual PC environment)  or try to learn from a PC until they have become familiar with the software. Once you are more familiar with AutoCad, you\u2019ll be able to use your MAC<\/span> more easily.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"color: initial;\">Revit is not available in MAC version so if you are a MAC user, you can try to install a virtual PC environment and see if you can install Revit there. Your computer technician may have to help you with this.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Instructions to download:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>AutoCad&nbsp;can be downloaded via this&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/education\/edu-software\/overview?sorting=featured&amp;filters=individual\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">link<\/a>. The product looks like this.  Please do not download AutoCad Architecture. Just Autocad on its own like this icon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"59\" class=\"wp-image-105990 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/59;width: 150px;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/designalive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/AC-icon-help.jpg\" alt=\"-\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Please choose <strong>2026<\/strong> from the versions available to download under the AutoCad drop down options<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Revit&nbsp;can be downloaded via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/education\/edu-software\/overview?sorting=featured&amp;filters=individual\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this&nbsp;link<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please download version&nbsp;<strong>Revit 2025<\/strong> for self paced and <strong>Revit 2025<\/strong> for live or cohort<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The school location is in the <strong>UK<\/strong> and the website address is <a href=\"https:\/\/designalive.com\/\">https:\/\/designalive.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The name of the school is <strong>Design Alive (Salford UK<\/strong>)  (or <strong>Design Alive<\/strong>) is listed under&nbsp;University\/ Post&nbsp;Secondary school (institution type)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You&nbsp;MUST&nbsp;choose the correct institution type or you won&#8217;t find Design Alive on the list and we do not know how you can correct it if you choose the wrong institution type&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Please use UK for school address (as opposed to USA) UK address <strong>97 Singleton Road Salford<\/strong> <strong>M7 4LX UK<\/strong>, (if UK address doesn&#8217;t work) US address for Design Alive: <strong>18 Village in the Woods Southern Pines,&nbsp;North Carolina 28387<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Course expiry is <strong>1 year from the date you download.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The area of expertise is&nbsp;<strong>architecture<\/strong> if they ask for it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only select the current month of start date and NOT a future month or you will get an error message&nbsp;<em>We\u2019re experiencing some problems accessing your Autodesk account. Please try again later.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Common Autodesk software download Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Autocad shuts down and a tab pops up saying that the product license is no longer available. This is likely due to a filter such as Techloq, especially if installed after Autocad was installed). Please contact Techloq to allow all Autodesk software fully. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are experiencing general problems with Autodesk, please go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/education\/support#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Autodesk support<\/a> for more help. They don&#8221;t know about any potential filter issues<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For help to renew your subscription, please view <a href=\"https:\/\/videos.autodesk.com\/zencoder\/content\/dam\/autodesk\/www\/industries\/education\/video\/individual-product-access-renew-access-video-1920x1080.mp4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A known error caused by Techloq filter is that when Autodesk ask you to select a school from a dropdown list, no schools show up, please contact your filter if this is the case.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you do not have a filter and Design Alive does not appear, you can try selecting any school and on a subsequent page it may allow you to add design alive and upload proof.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If once you have downloaded AutoCad and it\u2019s asking you for a&nbsp;serial number&nbsp;it is likely your filter is blocking the program recognising you have a student version. You will need to be in touch with your filter company to add Autodesk to the approved lists. Techloq and NativUSA have known issues and removing the filter whilst installing the program is advisable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are experiencing other error messages then you may want to try to download through the virtual agent&nbsp;https:\/\/ava.autodesk.com\/&nbsp;who will give you an alternative link to download the software.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Autodesk does not have any phone support at all and their chat support is not always very helpful. If you experience issues with your download, we suggest you first contact Design Alive as we are VERY familiar with alot of known errors and should be able to assist you, please complete the form below and include a screenshot of your error and we will do our best to help you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some AutoCad error messages and solutions are provided here. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Autocad error message and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/knowledge.autodesk.com\/support\/autocad\/troubleshooting\/caas\/sfdcarticles\/sfdcarticles\/Error-message-installing-Autodesk-Navisworks-Manage-for-BIM-Product-download-consists-of-multiple-files.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solution<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>AutoCad error message and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/knowledge.autodesk.com\/support\/autocad\/troubleshooting\/caas\/sfdcarticles\/sfdcarticles\/Connect-to-the-Internet-error-message-during-AutoCAD-activation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solution<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-pb-accordion-item c-accordion__item js-accordion-item no-js\" data-initially-open=\"false\" data-click-to-close=\"true\" data-auto-close=\"true\" data-scroll=\"false\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\"><h4 id=\"at-824057\" class=\"c-accordion__title js-accordion-controller\" role=\"button\"><strong>Digital Illustration Instructions<\/strong><\/h4><div id=\"ac-824057\" class=\"c-accordion__content\">\n<p>Students will need a subscription to Adobe Creative cloud (<a href=\"https:\/\/designalive.com\/faq\/software-guidance-and-support\/\">see software guidance page<\/a>) and Clip Studio. The teacher will tell them details of Clip Studio once they start the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For computer spec suggestions please see Personal computer advice below. We highly recommend you consult with your computer technician<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Here is a link to the 2 tablets that are recommended for purchase. You do not need to have them purchased before you start the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Wacom-Graphics-Animation-Beginners-DTC133W0A\/dp\/B082LZXQ6B\/ref=sr_1_3?crid=232Y4HLUOPBDU&amp;keywords=wacom%2Bone%2Bcreative%2Bpen%2Bdisplay&amp;qid=1663750546&amp;sprefix=wacom%2Bone%2B%2Caps%2C419&amp;sr=8-3&amp;th=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tablet 1<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/school.designalive.com\/mod\/url\/view.php?id=35658\">W<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Wacom-Graphics-Animation-Beginners-DTC133W0A\/dp\/B082LZXQ6B\/ref=sr_1_3?crid=232Y4HLUOPBDU&amp;keywords=wacom%2Bone%2Bcreative%2Bpen%2Bdisplay&amp;qid=1663750546&amp;sprefix=wacom%2Bone%2B%2Caps%2C419&amp;sr=8-3&amp;th=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">acom one creative pen display<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Wacom-Cintiq-Drawing-Tablet-DTK1660K0A\/dp\/B07L77GTTY?th=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tablet 2- Wacom cintiq 16URL<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","topic":[202,201,173],"class_list":{"0":"post-82405","1":"faq","2":"type-faq","3":"status-publish","5":"topic-technical-computer-assistance-2","6":"topic-getting-started-with-my-course","7":"topic-technical-computer-assistance","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/designalive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq\/82405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/designalive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/designalive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faq"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/designalive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designalive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=82405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}