Concentration of Credit Risk Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2012	Oct. 31, 2011	Oct. 31, 2012	Oct. 31, 2012 Accounts Receivable	Jan. 31, 2012 Accounts Receivable	Oct. 31, 2011 Tech Data [Member]	Oct. 31, 2011 Tech Data [Member]
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Unsecured revolving credit facility (in usd)	$ 400.0		$ 400.0
Total sales to the distributors Tech Data Corporation and its global affiliates ("Tech Data") relative to Autodesk's consolidated net revenue	24.00%	16.00%	23.00%			20.00%	22.00%
Document Period End Date			Oct. 31, 2012
Percentage of gross accounts receivable accounted for by Tech Data				23.00%	21.00%