With Vault Office Client 2019 installed - a right-clicked zip file error appears 'Explorer.exe cannot run...'

March 2, 2022 Bob Felton

Issue:

With the Autodesk Vault Office Client for 2019 and perhaps later installed, that means the Vault Client for CAD applications is not installed because only one or the other can be installed on a given workstation.

On some installations, when a zip file is right-clicked from a windows folder a message appears stating:

"Explorer.exe cannot run because there is no registered version of Autodesk Inventor or Design Assistant or Apprentice Server. Please run one of these programs and close it before rerunning this program."

 

    

 

Causes:

right-click shell extension for ZIP files was looking for Autodesk Inventor and was not finding it.

 

Solution:

From this eight-year-old blog article is a confirmed solution that involves locating and downloading a freeware Shell Extensions Manager (ShellExView) utility that has a copyright by NirSoft.

The solution follows these steps:

  1. Download and install ShellExView.
  2. Scan it for security, then if it passes, run it.
  3. Click Options, Filter by Extension Type.
  4. Only select Context Menu and click OK
  5. Look for the 5 results with Description “DtBridge”, all starting with Autodesk Inventor.
  6. Select them and right-click, Disable Selected Items.
  7. Click Options, Restart Explorer.
  8. The right-click menu for ZIP files no longer shows the error.

 

 

About the Author

Bob Felton

Sr. Technical Support Specialist, Manufacturing<br><br>Bob Felton has been supporting Autodesk products for over 25 years including core AutoCAD, P&ID, Plant 3D, AutoCAD for Mac, AutoCAD Mechanical, and Vault. His background is in graphics with an Applied Sciences degree and ten years manufacturing experience drafting, as well as technical illustration, image editing, and even patent drafting.

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