Level:

Beginner Intermediate Advanced

Solution ID:

S-014052

Category:

Data Management, User Interface, Best Practice, Tech Tip

Products/Version:

SolidWorks 2007

Last revised:

SolidWorks Explorer is a file management tool designed to help you perform tasks like renaming, replacing, and copying SolidWorks® files. You can show references, search for documents using a variety of criteria, and list the locations a document is used. Renamed files are still available to those documents that they reference.

You can use SolidWorks Explorer with or without the SolidWorks application and with or without PDMWorks® software.

SolidWorks Explorer is not a PDM (product data management) tool; however, it does perform useful tasks and simplifies file management processes. You can add the PDMWorks Workgroup Contributor application to run as a standalone application inside SolidWorks Explorer.

While SolidWorks Explorer was developed for SolidWorks documents, it also works with other types of files.

Interface

The first time you open SolidWorks Explorer, it appears in its collapsed view, with only the SolidWorks Search box visible.

Figure 1

When you search for a file using the search function, or select the expand button , the File Explorer and Results tabs appear.

Figure 2

When you select an item in the File Explorer pane, the fully expanded view of SolidWorks Explorer appears. Depending on the type of item selected, different tabs appear in the expanded view where you can perform data management tasks. Each tab contains several columns of information.

Tabs include the following:

• Info – Files information on type, size, name, path, and date modified
• Properties – Custom properties can be viewed, added, and edited
• Where Used - Find out where the document is used within the current directory and search paths
• Configurations – List of configurations within the document. There also is a Configuration pull-down next to the files name that can be used to select and view a different configuration
• Hyperlinks – Hyperlinks within the document
• View – View the document using eDrawings

Figure 3

There are a couple of icons on the top of the expanded view that:

Save to File – This will save the files and project information to a text file.

Options – Set up options for SolidWorks Explorer (see next section).

Setting up SolidWorks Explorer

The Options feature allows for defining search locations, items to show in the tree and add-in. The dialog box shown below is without the PDMWorks Workgroup add-in option selected.

Figure 4

To enable using PDMWorks Workgroup within SolidWorks Explorer, check PDMWorks Workgroup in the Add-in dialog box. This will display additional tabs for setting up PDMWorks Workgroup within SolidWorks Explorer.

Figure 5

Working with your files

When you click a file in the File Explorer , a set of icons will appear. These are described below:

Open —Open the selected file in SolidWorks.

Pack n Go— Start the Pack n Go feature which will take the file, and all related files, and copy them to a new location or zip file.

Rename —Rename the select document updating files that reference the
document.

Replace —Replace the selected with another file keeping the references in-tack.

Select a file, right click to view additional features (see Fiegure 6).

Figure 6

You can also select a file from within the expanded view, and right click to get these functions.

Figure 7

Searching

The Search function in SolidWorks Explorer uses indexing. This happens during idle time.

The SolidWorks Search application does not search folder or file names. To search for a folder or file name, right-click a folder in the File Explorer pane, select Explore , and search using Windows® Explorer.

The following operators are supported:

•  Wildcard * (asterisk)

•  Quotation Marks " " (for exact term, including spaces)

•  Spaces for compound strings (implicit AND )

•  Comparison > and < with date

Conclusion

You can use PDMWorks Workgroup with or without the SolidWorks application. You can use SolidWorks Explorer with or without the SolidWorks application and with or without PDMWorks.

SolidWorks Explorer:

•  Does not require the SolidWorks application

•  Does not require a license

PDMWorks Workgroup Contributor

•  Is enabled by selecting PDMWorks Workgroup from the Options\Add-Ins dialog box

•  Runs as a standalone application through the SolidWorks Explorer interface

•  Does not require the SolidWorks application

•  Requires a PDMWorks Workgroup license

Whether you work with the SolidWorks Explorer or extend its use by attaching to a PDMWorks Workgroup server, the SolidWorks Explorer will help make managing files easier and more effective.

The most effective way to manage your files are with a true PDM application like PDMWorks Workgroup or PDMWorks Enterprise.