Enhancements to the SolidWorks graphical user interface

With every release of SolidWorks® 3D CAD software, usability groups review enhancement requests and perform usability studies. These requests and studies directly affect the next release of SolidWorks software. In this article we will outline the timesaving innovations incorporated in the graphical user interface (GUI) as a result of requests and studies made.

The SolidWorks GUI also incorporates patented features that are used by all other cad/cam programs today.

Background Images

You can use an image supplied with the software, or your own image, as background for the graphics area and FeatureManager design tree area.

Click Tools , Options , System Options , Colors . Choose a scheme under Current color scheme , or browse to an Image file under Background appearance.

FeatureManager Design Tree

The FeatureManager design tree expands, collapses, and scrolls only on request. To collapse all items, right-click and select Collapse Items at the bottom of the RMB menu , or press Shift+C.

To toggle display of the left panel (FeatureManager design tree, PropertyManagers, etc.) Click in the center of the panel border, click View , FeatureManager Tree Area , or press F9.

Figure 1

You can save models with the rollback bar placed anywhere. When you open the document, you can use rollback commands and drag the bar from the saved position.

View Menu

Items added to the View menu:

Screen Capture, Lights, Full Screen (F11), FeatureManagerTree Area (F9),

Parting Lines, Cameras, Toolbars (F10)

Figure 2

In Full Screen mode, the SolidWorks borders (including the FeatureManager area, Task Pane, and status bar) and top level menus are hidden. You can access the menus by hovering the pointer over the top of the screen see above. The visibility of the toolbars, status bar, Task Pane, and FeatureManager area is stored separately for Normal Mode and Full Screen mode. See above picture.

Desktop Search

SolidWorks Search is available in SolidWorks and SolidWorks Explorer to search for file names and for text strings in all indexed documents. SolidWorks Search is faster than other search engines and provides:

• Full text search (searching text inside documents)
• Advanced search (searches for multiple criteria)
• Keywords (for precise searches)
• Retrieval of all types of documents  
• Customizable searching, indexing options and add ins for different documents (i.e., Adobe Acrobat)

Note: The SolidWorks search is installed as an option and contains the Microsoft Windows Desktop Search engine.

Figure 3

SolidWorks Explorer

SolidWorks Explorer has a redesigned user interface, and now includes:

• Functionality previously found in PDMWorks Standalone client.
• Enhanced search capabilities with the new SolidWorks Search assistant.

Figure 4

Add to Library

Add to Design Library has been changed to Add to Library . An Add to Library tool has been added to the Task Pane Design Library tab. The Add to Library PropertyManager opens when you click the tool in the Task Pane or drag an item from a SolidWorks document into the Task Pane.

In the PropertyManager, you specify items to publish, file names, folder names, and other options.

Figure 5

Open and Save Dialog Boxes

The view style ( Thumbnails , Tiles , etc.) that you choose from the View Menu in the Open and Save dialog boxes is remembered the next time you access the dialog boxes. You can select multiple files with Ctrl and Shift in the Open dialog box.

Drawings confirm delete dialog box

In SolidWorks 2007 there is a new version of the confirm delete dialog box. This new dialog provides a cleaner display of the items in a parent child relationship and more control over the object that is being deleted.

Figure 6

Numeric Input

Horizontal sliders and thumbwheels have been added to numeric controls such as those in the Modify dimension, Camera and Colors Property Managers.

Figure 7

Screen Capture

Click Screen Capture (Standard toolbar) or View , Screen Capture to copy the contents of the active window or viewport to the clipboard. You can then paste the image into other applications (Design Binder, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, etc.).The image is captured without any user interface menus.

Select Other

The Select Other dialog box displays icons for the types of elements in the list. Hidden faces are not displayed. The list shows entities in the order pierced. Highlighting is displayed in multiple views. You can scroll through the list with the middle mouse button.

Figure 8

Keyboard Shortcuts

The interface for managing keyboard shortcuts allows you to redefine (add, delete, or change) shortcuts for all commands. You can assign multiple shortcuts to commands. In the dialog box, select a command and press a key or key combination for the shortcut. You can view the commands by category and show all commands or only commands with shortcuts assigned within the categories. Text strings in the Search for field filter the Command list within the selected category. Macro icons with shortcuts appear in the Tools category.

Now a message informs you if the key combination is already assigned to another command. If you decide to use the shortcut for the new command, it is removed from the old command. You also have the option to print the list or to copy the list to the Windows clipboard.

Figure 9

Task Pane

The SolidWorks Resources tab has a link to User Groups , a web site for finding and joining SolidWorks user groups, and a link to News .

Figure 10

The View Palette tab contains drawing views that allow you to simply drag and drop a view into a drawing.

Figure 11

Triad

The triad translating and rotating an assembly component has been enhanced so that it attaches more easily to geometry. Moving the center sphere drags the object rather than the triad. The triad is larger and, when appropriate, displays rotation rings. The rotation motion can snap to angle. Right-click the ring and select:

• Snap while dragging
• Rotate 90°
• Rotate 180°

Figure 12

Error Reporting

You can stop the build process for each error so you can fix feature failures one at a time. To choose the action the software takes when it encounters errors during model creation or rebuild, in Tools , Options , System Options General , select Stop , Continue , or Prompt in When rebuild error occurs.

Figure 13

In the FeatureManager design tree, hover the cursor over an item with an error to see the explanation in a tooltip. If you drag the rollback bar to a specific position, the model is rebuilt to that position regardless of errors. The model is not rebuilt if:

• The document is not the top-level document.
• The feature with the error is directly above the rollback bar.
• The part does not have any more rebuild errors during the current rebuild than it did in the previous one.

Figure 14

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Do not distribute or reproduce without the written consent of SolidWorks Corporation