I Installed the Vault Client, Where is My AutoCAD Vault Add-in Ribbon Tab?

You have installed the Autodesk Vault Client it seems without a hitch.  You open up AutoCAD and the Vault tab is missing.  You scratch your head and wonder what when wrong? 

Take heart, it usually is something very simple.  From this point on, you must be an Administrator of the workstation you are working on.  The first thing to check is if you configured the Vault Client installation to add the Vault Add-in for AutoCAD.  Make sure you close all running programs and go to the Windows Control Panel.  Select "Programs and Features" from the list.  Please note that I have configured my Control Panel for small icons which makes it easier to find.

After the installed Programs and Features have fully loaded, browse down to the Vault Client installation for your version.  In my case I have installed Autodesk Vault Professional 2017 (Client).

Right click on the entry and left click the "Uninstall/Change" option.  Don't worry, you have to choose another option later on if you are uninstalling the application.  Once the application installation routine has loaded, left click the "Add or Remove Features" icon.

The Vault Client feature list will appear.  Look at the list carefully, it represents all the applicable Autodesk applications installed on your workstation that can be configured with the Vault Client Add-in.  In my example, the "AutoCAD 2017 Add-in" is not checked which in turn did not install the necessary AutoCAD Vault Tab.  This could have occurred for two main reasons.  The Autodesk Vault Client was installed "before" the Autodesk AutoCAD application or someone unchecked it during installation.  Left click in the small box to place a check mark.  Select "Update" in the lower right hand corner of the dialog box to continue.  NOTE: If there already is a check mark, skip this step and select "Cancel" at the bottom right side of the dialog box and read on.

Occasionally you will be presented with the following dialog box which is requesting the location of the Vault installation files.  You may have to seek the help of your system administrator as to the files location and then simply use the "Browse" icon to locate it and then press "OK" to continue.

Once the screen informing you that the product was successfully upgraded, select the "Finish" icon to close the application.  Also close the Windows Control Panel.  Next run your AutoCAD application.  Sometimes the Vault Add-in will load up and the Vault tab will appear and you are finished.  If it still does not appear, you have one more step to execute.  Open a new drawing using any template your desire and type "CUILOAD" on the screen and then press "Enter".

This will bring up Load/Unload Customizations dialog box.  The listing at the top are the currently loaded AutoCAD user menus (called customizations).  You will notice that the "Vault" entry is missing.  Select the "Browse" icon at the bottom of the dialog box to continue.

Browse in the folder C:\Users\<current user>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD <version>\R<release>\enu\support (normally the default folder) and select the "VaAc.cuix" file.  Select "Open" to continue.

Back in the Load/Unload Customizations dialog box, select the "Load" icon to add it to the Loaded Customization Groups list.  Select "Close" to finish.

At this point, you should have a new "Vault" tab on your AutoCAD ribbon and you are ready to go.