Installing Softdesk 8 Imaging for AutoCAD R14 on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10

1. First, obtain your copy of the Longbow Converter here
2. Install your AutoCAD R14 by carefully following the steps detailed here
3. Using Windows Explorer, copy your entire Softdesk 8 Imaging CD contents to your hard drive, to a folder path c:\Autodesk\imagingR14
4. Start the Longbow Converter tool, select the 2nd tab, pick the c:\Autodesk\imagingR14 folder, and click Run.
   1. When asked “Is this an installation media, a service pack/update or plug-in/app for AutoCAD?” say Yes
   2. Next, read and understand all the prompts before pressing OK… Now, I know it’s unheard of these days, but at this point expect to wait at least 45 minutes for your Softdesk setup.exe program to appear. Once the setup starts, install as normal (simply accept all defaults).
5. Next, start your AutoCAD R14. Once AutoCAD starts up fully, simply type preferences at the command line, select the Profiles tab, double click the Softdesk profile and make it the Current Profile. Finally, OK out of the preferences dialog.
6. Now you can happily run your Softdesk 8 Imaging inside of AutoCAD R14 on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 32bit or 64bit

Troubleshooting

If your setup is not starting after 45 minutes, try rebooting, then restart the steps above.

• If it is still failing, most likely it’s because of another application on your system which is preventing our setup routine from starting (perhaps anti-virus, or similar) – try installing from Windows Safe Mode