Concentration of Credit Risk Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2012	Apr. 30, 2011	Apr. 30, 2012 Accounts Receivable	Jan. 31, 2012 Accounts Receivable	Apr. 30, 2011 Tech Data [Member]
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Unsecured revolving credit facility (in usd)	$ 400.0
Total sales to the distributors Tech Data Corporation and its global affiliates ("Tech Data") relative to Autodesk's consolidated net revenue	22.00%	17.00%			23.00%
Percentage of gross accounts receivable accounted for by Tech Data			21.00%	21.00%

For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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