• Show contents while dragging drawing view.
• Smooth dynamic motion of drawing view.
• HLR edges when shaded.

• Automatic hiding of components on view creation.
• Automatically create RapidDraft drawings.

• Small parts and assemblies(<1000 components and <300 feature) - minimum 128MB, 256MB or more recommended.
• Assemblies greater than 1000 components and parts greater than 300 features, 512MB or more recommended.
• Assemblies greater than 2500 components and parts greater than 1000 features, 1GB or more recommended.

• Open a part, assembly, or drawing document.
• Click Tools, Customize, or right-click over the toolbar area and select Customize.
• On the Toolbars tab, select the check boxes for each toolbar you want to display and clear the check boxes for the toolbars you want to hide.

• To display large size toolbar buttons, select Large icons
• To show tooltips, select Show tooltips.When checked, a small note pops up to identify each tool icon when you pause your pointer over it.
• To automatically display the sketch toolbars in a part document, select Auto-activate sketch toolbars. This is the default.
• Click Reset to undo the changes and return to your previous settings.
• Click OK to accept the changes and close the dialog box; or click Cancel.

To move a toolbar:

1. Point at the space between the buttons on the toolbar and drag the toolbar to the desired location. If you drag it to an edge of the SolidWorks window, the toolbar docks to that edge automatically.
2. To change a toolbar’s orientation (from horizontal to vertical), drag the toolbar near a horizontal or vertical edge of the window before placing it in the desired location.

AutoRecover
The AutoRecover option automatically saves information about your active part, assembly or drawing documents. This helps you to prevent loss of data when the system terminates unexpectedly. To set this option, click Tools, Options, General and select Save AutoRecover info every (n) changes. This allows you to specify how often SolidWorks saves information about the changes. In a part or assembly document, a change is a rebuild or an action that requires a rebuild, such as the addition of a feature. In a drawing document, a change is any action such as changing a dimension, creating a section view, or adding an annotation.

When you install SolidWorks, the system automatically creates a folder called swxauto in the Windows temp directory, which stores the information that is saved by AutoRecover while you work on your document. The information is useful when the software shuts down unexpectedly. The next time you start SolidWorks, a prompt will inform you that documents from your last session were not closed properly. Click Yes to recover the file.

To disable AutoRecover, simply un check the check box in Tools, Options, General.

Note:AutoRecover is not the same as the user clicking the Save button; it does not save over the users original files. It saves a backup copy of the active document in a temporary folder in case there is an unexpected termination (power outage, abnormal termination, shutdown etc.). You can save over your original files when you recover the files the next time you start SolidWorks.

Backup

The Backup option stores a backup of the original document before any changes are saved to the file. You can think of it as a file one version before the last saved version of the document. As a file is being saved, it checks to see if a file of the same name already exists where the file is being saved and if it does, it simply renames the existing file before overwriting it. If erroneous changes to an active document are saved, you can undo them by opening the backup file. This will bring the document back to the point before the changes were made.

To set this option, click Tools, Options, System Options, Backups. Use the scroll arrow to change the entry for Number of backup copies per document. Scroll to 0 for none or select 1-10 for automatic backup. The name of a backup copy is "Backup of original filename and extension." You can also name a directory to which all backup copies will be stored by default. Click Tools, Options, System Options, Backups and use the button to specify the directory.

Note: If you click Save again without any changes to the document, the Backup file will be the same as the original.

Option #1:

With SolidWorks open, click File Open. Then browse to the drawing file you want to modify. Select it(Highlight it) but DO NOT open it. While the drawing file is highlighted, click references. Now you'll see a dialog box showing which files the drawing uses(references) to display.

Option #2:

Q1 Is there a way to copy both a part (.prt) and its associate drawing (.drw) and re-link the drawing to its actual part? I actually copy the part and the drawing, rename the part that was copied, open the drawing, re-link to the copied part, close the drawing and rename the copied part with the previous name. This procedure is quite long and I want to know if a better solution (macro? API?) exists.

A1.1 When copying an assembly or a drawing document that contains external references, the external references must be maintained and must refer to the copied parts and assemblies. (See Chart.)

There are three methods that take you through this process:

Using SolidWorks Explorer:

Using Save As:

Using Find References:

Yes. To copy the settings from Tools, Options from one machine to another, use the Copy Options Wizard found under the Start menu in the group where SolidWorks exists.

To copy the custom keyboard shortcuts and menus set up under Tools, Customize, go to your SolidWorks install directory, and look for a folder called "user".

In that folder you will find a file names loginname.CUS where "loginname" is your login name to the operating system. This file contains all of your custom shortcut key and menu settings.

Copy this file to the "SolidWorks_install_directory\user" folder on the new system.
If this system does not have a "user" folder, you may create one. Rename the file such that "loginname" is the same as the login name for the user on the new system. Please Note: Copying the .cus file from on version of SolidWorks to the next is a current limitation (example: I can copy the .cus file from my SolidWorks 2000 install to my workmates SolidWorks 2000 install, but not a SolidWorks 2001 machine). The only customization that can not be copied from one system to another at this time is the custom toolbar modifications and placement.

CAD is a high-resource, often stressful experience for a computer. This article discusses a number of common topics for IT and CAD managers who need to support SolidWorks CAD systems. This practices and suggestions are mainly aimed at systems running SolidWorks, but many of these techniques will benefit your system across the board, and help you get the most out of your hardware and software investment.

Software crashes can be frustrating and expensive in terms of lost time. The software manufacturer often gets handed the blame. The real issues, however, can be much more complicated than just one piece of software. There are many possible sources of error and instability with computer system.

This article offers some troubleshooting tips to help you tame a crash-prone system. The focus will be on maintenance related solutions, best practices, rules of thumb, and a checklist to help you find the source of the errors.

Most crashes fall into common categories: video, OS, installation, specific SW functions, and specific document data.

1. Some of the recommended techniques will require administrator privileges on your machine, a basic understanding of what you're doing, and a bit of common sense. Don't delete or modify anything unless you're absolutely positive you know what you're doing.
2. Is your video card/driver version on the yellow or red list from the SW Website?
   You can troubleshoot suspected video card problems by using the "use software OpenGL" on the tools/options/performance" page, or by running your OS in VGA or safe mode. In the control panel, you can usually also turn down the hardware acceleration for your card, which will slow it down, but may increase stability. Video related crashes are probably the most frequent single category.

3. Was antivirus software running when you installed SolidWorks? If so, turn off your anti-virus, reinstall SW and reapply all SPs, then turn AV back on. This installation conflict is responsible for about 30% of persistent and seemingly random instability issues with SolidWorks.
4. Is your system otherwise stable? SolidWorks probably puts more strain on your computer than most other applications, so problems may show first here. Don't ignore it if you see Windows Explorer or MS Word crash regularly.
5. Do you see similar instability problems on similar systems? Comparing the performance of dissimilar systems can lead you to the cause of the problem. Different video cards or drivers, or versions or service packs of software can be possible problem source.
6. Are you running a supported OS? SolidWorks recommends the professional operating systems NT4.0 sp6, Win 2000 SP2 and XP Professional. Do yourself a favor and don't run SolidWorks on anything else (Window 95, 98, or ME). All but 95 are still supported, but 98/ME is not built to handle the rigors of technical applications. If you really need the 9X OS, consider a dual boot, or use a spare computer. Your CAD system is where you make the money, so this should be reliable.
7. Since the last time you made changes that might affect your OS (i.e., installing/removing software/hardware/drivers) have you reapplied the latest OS service pack? This is a frequently overlooked recommendation from Microsoft. Yes, it really makes a difference.
8. Has anyone tinkered with the registry? Registry tinkering should be done very carefully, and only if you know what you're doing. One slip and you can wind up reinstalling your operating system.
9. Is the temp directory specified as a system variable within the Environmental Variable dialog box? This should point to a directory that has sufficient free space.
10. When was the last time you cleared out your Temp directory? If you use SolidWorks a lot, delete everything in this directory once a week. This folder may be hidden if you have chosen to hide all system folders. This folder can cause problems if it gets too big.
11. How much disk space do you have on the drive where the OS and page files are? If this gets low, bad things happen, including BSOD (blue screen of death). Big disks are worth the investment. With hard disks, size does matter. There should be a minimum of 200-300 MB's on the system partition.
12. The amount of RAM required for a system is dependant on the size of the datasets being used. For performance reasons, you do not want to run out of physical RAM. The system will then use the virtual memory or pagefile. This is hard disk space that emulates RAM. The problem with the pagefile is twofold: first it is really slow! Secondly, the system will become less stable when the system resources run low.
13. Generally, it's a good idea to set the max and initial settings for your page file to the same value. The recommendation is 1.5 times the amount of RAM on the computer. If you blue screen, then you didn't set it high enough. Keep an eye on your task manager to see how much space you typically use (another good reason for using a professional grade OS). If you do big FEA analysis, count on using MUCH more page file. You can also look at the physical RAM usage with the task manager as it is better to never use the pagefile.
14. Set the minimum and maximum values once to the maximum amount required and preferably on its own partition that is clean (i.e., defragmented). Changing or letting the partition grow can cause a segmented or fragmented pagefile.
15. Avoid having the pagefile on the same drive as the systems files. Spread the pagefile on multiple drives. Don't use slower or heavy usage drives. Don't place pagefiles on different partitions of the same hard disk. Don't put a pagefile on a fault-tolerant drive (i.e., RAID-5) volume.
16. When was the last time you defragmented your hard drive? This depends on how often you move files around, or edit or create new files. This is probably not the direct cause of a crash, although a fragmented drive can contribute to system instability.
17. When was the last time you restarted your computer? Believe it or not, some people don't reboot their systems daily. This is an obvious one that can make a big difference and should not be overlooked.
18. Other drivers (i.e., sound cards, etc.) can also contribute to system issues. Have any of these drivers been updated or do they need to be replaced with current, supported drivers form the manufacturer?
19. Do you install a lot of "questionable" applications on your computer? Installs and uninstalls of semi-pro software can sometimes overwrite or remove files you need for other applications. It's obviously safest to leave your CAD box pretty clean.
20. Are your files on a network server? Running open files across a network can be slow. Do this test: put a SolidWorks part on a floppy disk. Open the part through Windows Explorer without SolidWorks already open. As you edit the part, SolidWorks keeps writing to the floppy because it put the *.swj (SolidWorks journal) file there. If you open SW first and browse to it, this does not happen because the journal file is in your "start in" dir.
21. What is the speed of your network? Can it handle all the traffic you put on it? Do all the SolidWorks users open or close large numbers of files at the same time (8:05 am or 4:55 pm)? Many companies separate the engineering network from the rest of the company.
22. Random crashes can also be caused by network problems. Due to the differences and variety in various networks, these problems can often be difficult to diagnose. If you suspect a network problem, disconnect your PC from the network, uninstall the network card, and try working locally. Use the same files and operations that caused the crash, but perform all work from your local hard drives. If the problems go away, then most likely they are caused by network conflicts/errors. If this is the case, seek support from your MIS department or systems manager.
23. Are you working on a Novell network? Old versions of Novell may have a limit of how many files can be opened across the network at a time. NT/2000 network is generally preferred.
24. Are you running the latest SolidWorks service pack? Have the crashes started since a particular SP was installed? Do you notice more or less stability on machines with different SPs?
25. What add-ins do you have installed? Which are running? Check Tools/Addins. Are they all up to date versions compatible with the current SolidWorks service pack? It's a good idea to turn off add-ins when you're not using them.
26. Is this a repeatable crash? If so, write down how to do it and send it to your reseller. Be as descriptive as you can. Use screen capture, even AVI screen capture to convey your point. Don't assume that someone has already discovered it and sent it in. It won't get fixed if it doesn't get reported.
27. Does this crash only happen with a particular document? If so, send it in. For big files, arrange for FTP, use Unfrag and zip the drawing with all of the referenced assemblies and parts. Use "File/Find references" to find and copy all the files that you need to send.
28. If you use design tables and/or BOMs a lot, check your task manager processes (not just applications) for an Excel process running in the background when the Excel window is closed.
29. A method that can be used to track changes is to keep a logbook with entries whenever a new program is install/uninstalled, new hardware or driver in installed/uninstalled, or existing software is updated (including anti virus software).
30. Is the hardware (i.e., cards and memory) connected and seated properly?
31. Is the hardware cooling properly? Are all the fans in good working condition?
32. Are you over-clocking your CPU? While this is technically possible, CPU's are sold at a clock speed because they could pass the manufacturers QA process at that speed. If possible, also check the CPU voltage and temperature

Getting Help from Tech Support

Chances are that if you go through the above questions when you start having stability problems, you will be spending less time scratching your head on the phone with tech support. However, for those times when you have determined that you have found a "bug", here are some hints on how to get good results from tech support:

Have the info that you gathered going through the list of questions available. At a minimum, you should know the following by heart: CPU model and speed, amount of RAM, Operating System, video card, SolidWorks version and service pack. This will tell the technician that you know what he needs to help you.

General Information:

1. Company name
2. Your name
3. SolidWorks serial number
4. Accurate problem description

System Information:

1. Operating System and version (Service Pack)
2. SolidWorks version and service pack
3. Available memory (RAM)
4. Video card manufacturer and model
5. Video card driver and version
6. Third party software installed
7. Network machine (Y/N) and type of network

The performance and SolidWorks log files can also help provide debug information to tech support. If you have these, send them along also.

Remember that the support technician cannot see what you see. Your lucid description of the situation is critical.

There is no substitute for attached files. Remember that sending a drawing or an assembly isn't enough. You must also send the parts.

Send screen shots and notes for specific comments. Microsoft Paint can be used to capture and annotate an image. Use Alt-Print Screen and paste the results into a paint program.

Do yourself a favor and make sure that you take training appropriate for the task you want to complete. Training via tech support is an inefficient use of your time. Often the trainer may also provide support. It helps to know these people personally.

Try to mention "funny little things" up front ("My hard drive is constantly grinding", "My display always has this black stripe", "the Feature Manager has red exclamation marks on it", "This part came from a vendor who I have never had problems with in the past", etc.)

If you notice any systematic pattern at all, suggest that to the technician. It might give him a clue. "It always happens on assembly mates", "It only happens when I use my spaceball", etc.

Explain the problem and circumstances leading up to it. "I worked all day, then pow." "This happened first thing in the morning".

Use standard terminology. "Doo-hicky" and "thingy" are not specific enough for a technician to know what you mean. The training manuals label the areas of the interface clearly.

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Links to Windows Administration Related Web Sites http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/default.asp
http://www.ntfaq.com/
http://www.pureperformance.com/
http://www.winntmag.com/
http://www.sysinternals.com/
http://www.i386.com/

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Defining Sketches

As you add dimensions to a sketch, the state of the sketch appears in the status bar. Any SolidWorks sketch is in one of three states.
Each state is indicated by a different color:

In a fully defined sketch, the positions of all the entities are fully described by dimensions or relations, or both. In a fully defined sketch, all the entities are black.

In an under defined sketch, additional dimensions or relations are needed to completely specify the geometry. In this state, you can drag under defined sketch entities to modify the sketch. An under defined sketch entity is blue.

In an over defined sketch, an object has conflicting dimensions or relations, or both. An over defined sketch entity is red.

In a dangling sketch, the entity appears brown and dashed. A dangling entity is an entity that has a relationship to another piece of geometry that no longer exists or has changed such that the relationship can not be resolved.

When the sketch is not solved, the geometry's position cannot be determined using the current constraints and appears in pink.

In an invalid sketch, the geometry would be geometrically invalid if the sketch were solved. An invalid sketch entity appears in yellow.

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Assigning a New String to the BOM Quantity Column

When adding multiple parts or hardware you may want to add a different notation to the Quantity rather than the actual number of items;
for instance, an "as required" or "two sets" notation is required for the BOM.

1. Edit the BOM template in Excel.
2. Add two columns immediately to the right of the QTY column.
3. Add STRING and QTY as headings for the new columns, assuming these will be columns C and D, respectively.
4. In the (new) QTY column (column D), insert an Excel formula that points to the STRING column if there is any text there; i.e., =IF(ISBLANK(C2),B2,C2).
5. Copy the formula down from D2 to D200 (or whatever is the biggest BOM you anticipate).
6. Right-click on the column header of the original QTY column and select Hide.

Also hide the STRING columns (columns B and C).
In any part you want listed with a string quantity, create a custom property called STRING, and put the text string
into that property (for example, "3 sets").
Note: if any changes to the assembly are made, you must edit the BOM template to update the added columns.

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Why is my Toolbox Steel Shape (sketch) not correct?

The Toolbox documentation states that you should not insert a structural steel shape while another sketch is open, but it doesn't specifically declare why.
The problem is that doing so will create a steel profile with NO dimensions. And thus no matter what size you select from the drop list, you will get the default size. (typically 2")

1. When you create a Toolbox steel shape, an existing profile sketch is copied from a reference file to the SolidWorks clipboard.
2. Then dimensions are applied according to the database record that matches your selection from the drop list.
3. The newly dimensioned sketch is then pasted from the clipboard into your current part document, where it rebuilds itself in the proper size.

Step 2 fails if you have a sketch already open, as the operation to apply the dimensions encounters 2 available sketches and thus applies them to neither.
Back in SolidWorks 98 Plus there was a warning pop-up that appeared whenever this happened, however in 99 there was a concentrated effort to remove many warning messages due to VAR and customer complaints of redundancy.

In short, this SPR will eventually close with a more detailed help write-up. But the behavior will not change significantly. To avoid the situation, simply create the steel section with your sketch closed, and then copy & paste between the 2 sketches. Another alternative is to use the Toolbox Browser structural steel profiles which are presented as pre-extruded parts, and then edit with your own sketches to suit.

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How do I Create a Variable in an Equation?

Start a new part, sketch, draw a line and dimension it.

Create new equation, and select Add.

Make this equation first: ("D1@Sketch1" = "D1@Sketch1"+1). Select OK.

Select Edit All.

Add this line (before the previous equation): MYVAR=1.

Change your original equation to this: ("D1@Sketch1" = "D1@Sketch1"+MYVAR).

Select OK, OK.

It should look like this:
MYVAR=1
"D1@Sketch1"="D1@Sketch1"+MYVAR

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Relations for points in a sketch: differences between Coincident vs. Merge

The Geometric Relations dialog permits two different relations for points in a sketch: Merge or Coincident.
Fortunately, users need never worry about choosing one or the other - only one of these relations is ever available at a time, and the system automatically grays-out the other, based upon the pre-selected geometry.

COINCIDENT: This relation applies to any point belonging to the current sketch, and a point that is referenced from outside the current sketch, (a model vertex, endpoint of a different sketch, etc.). Even though the two points will now co-exist in space, they retain their individual identity.

MERGE: This relation applies between two endpoints that both belong within the current sketch. In this case, the system 'dissolves' one of the endpoints, and the other endpoint becomes common to both adjacent lines or arcs. This simplification greatly streamlines the management of other relations that the user may wish to apply at this point.

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Lock View Focus - explained...

For some operations, you need to select a view; for others, you activate a view.

Selecting a view allows you to create a projected view, to insert break lines for a broken view, to move the view on the sheet, and to resize the view boundary. A selected view has a green border (blue in RapidDraft drawings) with drag handles. To select a view, click an empty area within the view boundary.

Activating a view allows you to sketch entities in that view. This is necessary for sketching section lines, and for defining profiles for detail views. To edit the sketch entity, the view to which it belongs must be active. The border of an active view is a shadowed box.

You can set an option that causes drawing views to activate automatically when the pointer passes over them. Click Tools, Options, System Options, Drawings. Select or clear the Dynamic drawing view activation check box.

When Dynamic drawing view activation is selected, the view closest to the pointer position is activated automatically. To stop the dynamic activation temporarily, you can lock the focus on a view or on the sheet. Right-click the view or the sheet, and select Lock View Focus or Lock Sheet Focus

.

Lock View Focus allows you to add sketch entities to a view, even when the pointer is close to another view. You can be sure that the items you are adding belong to the view you want.

Lock Sheet Focus allows you to add sketch entities to the sheet. Otherwise, the sketch entities belong to the view that is closest to where you begin sketching.

To return to dynamic activation mode, right-click again, and select Unlock View Focus (or double-click a different view) or Unlock Sheet Focus (or double-click any view).

When Dynamic drawing view activation is cleared, double-click anywhere within a view's boundary to activate the view, or right-click within the boundary and select Activate View. To de-activate a view, either double-click again, activate a different view, or right-click and select Activate Sheet.

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Center of Gravity - explained...

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Is it possible to apply material to a selected body in a multi-body part by selecting it from the tree?

The question is vague. "Material" can mean PhotoWorks material or material property, such as density and cross-hatch pattern. PhotoWorks/2 materials can be applied to bodies in your part. It is my understanding that material properties cannot be applied to bodies currently. This makes sense: a single part = a single material. If you want to apply different mass properties to your bodies, you should use Split Part to save those bodies to different parts, where the material property can be assigned. Multi-body parts are not (and perhaps never should be) a substitute for assemblies.

...or...

No, there is no way to assign different densities to multi-body parts. Even if the multi-body part is made of two distinct parts (using Insert - Part) that have different densities, the resultant part will have whatever density is set for that file.

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Why are my line widths wider than I want when plotting to the DesignJet Plotter?

Some of you have been experiencing wider than normal line weights when plotting to the DesignJet Plotter. We�ve determined that this is caused by turning on FAST HLR/HLV on the drawing views.

To fix the problem:

On new drawings:
Make sure FAST HLR/HLV is NOT selected under Tools -> Options -> System Options -> Drawings -> Default Display Type

On existing drawings:
You can ctrl+select multiple views and select the FAST HLR/HLV toolbutton from the VIEW Toolbar or using the pulldown menus, goto VIEW -> DISPLAY and deselect USE FAST HLR/HLV.

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Using custom line styles in SolidWorks

Coming from the world of AutoCAD, I have been used to the highly flexible customization of the various drafting components inherent to the program. While I have found the same to be mostly true for SolidWorks, I've had difficulty with some things, in particular, the line styles (or "linetypes" as AutoCAD called them). I'm primarily interested in how to scale the existing standard styles in SolidWorks, but would also like to know how to create new custom styles. For scaling, we had the LTSCALE command in AutoCAD. Is there a similar function in SolidWorks?

Answer (option) #1:
Yes, it is possible to create your own line-types by editing the following file "swlines.lin" which is located in Program Files\SolidWorks\lang\english. The line type you create should become available under the line type button. You will have to experiment a little to get the result you are after. This also line type will be available in Component line fonts when editing these on the detail view

Answer (option) #2:
Standard linetypes from AutoCAD are supported for import/export, custom third party or user-created. Linetypes are not supported at this time by SolidWorks. Submitting an enhancement request to SolidWorks is the most that can be done. Linetype scale (LTSCALE in AutoCAD) in SolidWorks is linked to the sheet format scale. When you change the sheet format scale in SolidWorks all line styles in all views update. AutoCAD has another command called PSLTSCALE to handle different scaled views in Paperspace.

Answer (option) #3:
My best advice is to let it go. If you refer to any drawing standard (ANSI/ASME, ISO, DIN, etc.) you will find a very limited number of line styles, for good reason-they are standards. In SolidWorks changing line styles in a drawing usually means more non-value-added activity (I would argue it is non-value in any CAD tool). SolidWorks drawings conform to all published standards (give or take a bit) right out of the box.

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When I get the message "The external ID of part xyz does not match that of�"...what does it mean?

Please be advised that if you ever receive an error message in SolidWorks stating that �The external ID of part xyz does not match that of�� this may be telling you that you have two files open with the same filename. If so, exit both parts (or assemblies) without saving and open only ONE assembly at a time.

After lengthy discussions with our SolidWorks VAR it was determined that this issue is the nature of SolidWorks and that there is no software tool available to help us avoid these issues. Therefore we must become disciplined in the way SolidWorks operates and the easiest way to do that is make sure we use a �project prefix� on our files or at the very least be conscious of the fact that we should avoid having files with the same names in different folders on the server.

Question: Why can't I have two parts open at the same time with the same name from different directories?

Answer: This is a current limitation. SolidWorks can not have 2 parts with the same name open at the same time, regardless of if they are stored in 2 different directories. We highly recommend that users use unique names for all of their parts.

Question: If I open an assembly which contains 2 sub-assemblies each of which contains a part with the same name, but stored in a different folder, both of the parts open as one part instead of the 2 separate files. Why does this happen?

Answer: SolidWorks is only capable of having one part of a certain name open at any one time, regardless of whether or not the parts are stored in separate folders. When the assembly is opened, it will open the first copy of the part and when it goes to open the second, there is already one with that name open in memory so it will use that part instead of the one that is not yet open. We highly recommend that users name parts with completely independent names as this will avoid such problems and in general will be easier to maintain.

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Is it possible to reset SolidWorks to the default settings without doing a complete reinstall?"

If you have exhausted all other possibilities of your problem try doing this, before reinstalling.
IMPORTANT You have to be comfortable to change data in the registry, because you can hose your entire computer if you change the wrong item.

1. Close SW
2. Click Start\Run and type Regedit
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Solidworks
4. RMB the Solidworks directory and click rename.
5. Rename it with your Initials or something.
6. Restart SW, you will have to accept the license agreement and reset your toolbars and tools options. Before you do that, see if that fixes any problems you are encountering.
7. If so, Close SW, then go back to your Registry and delete the Solidworks directory you renamed. (if you push f5 (refresh) you will see a new Solidworks directory appear).
8. If not and you want to keep your old settings. Then Close SW, (push f5)delete the newly created Solidworks directory, and rename the other directory (that has your initials in it) back to Solidworks. If this doesn't work, your last alternative maybe to Reinstall SW.

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SolidWorks Bill of Material (BOM) Creation Tips:

• Under Tools -> Options -> Document Properties...make sure "Automatic Update of BOM" is checked.



• In the 'Bill of Materials Dialog Box', under the 'Control Tab', make sure the "Row Numbers Follow Assembly Editting" checkbox is unchecked.



• NOTE:When FIRST CREATED SolidWorks BOM's follow the "order shown in the Feature Manager". From that point forward when making changes to the assembly, SolidWorks BOM's will add any changes to the "bottom" of the BOM".



• NOTE:If you need to move items up or down in the Feature Manager, HOLD DOWN THE 'ALT' KEY when you do so, these changes then DO NOT reflect in the BOM



• NOTE:There are NO global settings or Tools -> Options to control this, but the checkbox's in the 'Bill of Materials Dialog Box' are "sticky". Meaning when you create a BOM and have it unchecked, the next time you create a BOM it will still be unchecked.

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How do I display a Frames Per Second statistics field in the SW graphics window?

A. The information provided by this field is not of much use in a daily CAD modeling session, but its use when benchmarking or comparing the performance of graphics cards is very handy to have.

To activate this option requires editing the Windows registry. The key to be edited is: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks\SolidWorks 2003\Performance Setting the value data to 1 will display the FPS field. Setting the value data to 0 will turn off the FPS field.

As an alternative to editing your registry manually you may merge one of the following registry files to your own registry. Just double click the file after downloading or right click and choose merge. Either way you will be prompted if you are sure you want to add the information to your registry. Just make sure that SolidWorks is not running when you edit this registry value, otherwise the changes will not take place

SolidWorks FPS Display ON

SolidWorks FPS Display OFF

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