SOLIDWORKS Frequently Asked Questions

SOLIDWORKS for Makers includes 25 GB of 3DEXPERIENCE cloud platform storage through 3DDrive and 3DSpace, providing ample capacity for your designs. Features such as file versioning, history tracking, and recovery help keep your personal workspace organized. This is usually more than enough for personal and hobby projects.

Currently, storage cannot be expanded, and the 25 GB limit applies only to SOLIDWORKS for Makers licenses.

This can happen if you are kicked out of your session. Refresh ( F5) your browser and wait 30-60 seconds for the previous session to close.

The software will successfully reactivate in most cases. If your attempt to reactivate fails, please contact your Reseller Support for help.

Student Edition products allow for 2 activations.  If both activations have already been consumed, then you can contact our support team for further assistance by filling in the Student support form.  If you only installed and activated SOLIDWORKS once, then you can install and activate the license one more time without contacting SOLIDWORKS for assistance.

Generally, in this case, installation logs show an error with the installation of VSTA (vsta_aide.msi).

When trying to manually install the VSTA component by running vsta_aide.msi, installation of VSAT fails with error code 1305 "Error reading from file' during installation."

Generally, this occurs when the installation is running from OneDrive and the Installation Manager is unable to read some files from OneDrive leading to installation failure.

To resolve the issue, copy the all the downloaded files to a folder that’s local to the system, then run the installation from the local folder.

In most of the cases this problem is caused by unsupported graphics cards and drivers. To verify this, try to start SOLIDWORKS with Software OpenGL. Since SOLIDWORKS is not starting at all in this scenario, you can try to start SOLIDWORKS with Software OpenGL through SOLIDWORKS Rx:

1. Launch SOLIDWORKS Rx from Start > All Programs > SOLIDWORKS(version) > SOLIDWORKS Tools
2. On the ‘Home’ tab of Rx under ‘SOLIDWORKS Safe Modes’ click the option “Click here to launch SOLIDWORKS in Software OpenGL mode.”

If SOLIDWORKS does not crash in OpenGL mode, this confirms that the problem is due to the graphics card or its drivers.

To see the list of SOLIDWORKS supported graphics cards and drivers for your system (if your system is not listed please select Any System Vendor) follow the link: https://www.solidworks.com/support/hardware-certification

In most of the cases this problem is caused by unsupported graphics cards and drivers. To verify this, try to start SOLIDWORKS with Software OpenGL (if this option is not disabled due to unsupported graphics card). You can either follow the steps in the above question, or follow the steps below:

1. Launch SOLIDWORKS and without opening any document go to Tools > Options > Performance
2. Enable “Use Software OpenGL”
3. Select OK and now try to open a new part, assembly, or drawing

If SOLIDWORKS does not crash in Software OpenGL mode, this confirms that the problem is due to the graphics card or its drivers. To see the list of SOLIDWORKS supported graphics cards and drivers for your system (if your system is not listed please select Any System Vendor) follow the link: https://www.solidworks.com/support/hardware-certification

Here are some basic tools for using SOLIDWORKS in a browser.

Settings

Accesses more SOLIDWORKS applications, changes the resolution, shows and hides usage statistics, shares and quits the session, and so on.

My Files

Uploads files from your local computer to the Home folder using My Files

Launch Applications

You can launch SOLIDWORKS, SOLIDWORKS Visualize, eDrawings and Treehouse.

• You can access many sample files at Document > SOLIDWORKS Product Trial. Click File > Open to access the sample content.
• The Recent Documents list in the SOLIDWORKS software is pre-populated with files. Press R to access the Recent Documents list.
• Any files you create will be deleted from the evaluation system after you close the evaluation session, unless you save them to the Home Folder.
• To test your own data, you can Upload Files using the My Files tool  . TIP: Drag and drop files from your local Windows Explorer to the Home Folder (or sub folders you create) once in My Files. Files uploaded here are available to open via This PC > Home Folder

You can save files from the browser to your Home Folder and then clicking any file on your Home Folder will download it to your local machine.

To download files:

1. Save the files in Home Folder.
2. In the dialog box, click the file you want to download.

Click Profiles on the upper right of the SOLIDWORKS window and use the End Session option to quit the session. Save any open documents. Your changes will be lost if you don't save them before ending the session.
The SOLIDWORKS in the browser session may also end if it times out. Time outs happen if you:

• Exceed the maximum duration. The maximum duration of a session is shown in a countdown timer at the bottom of the screen while you run SOLIDWORKS in the browser.
• Do not interact with it (by keyboard or mouse) for 10 minutes.

You can upload files from your computer to the Home Folder under My Files.

To upload files:

• Click Upload files 
• The uploaded files appear in the Home folder (under My Files).
• You can create your own Folders using Add Folder option. 
• TIP: Drag and drop files from your local Windows Explorer to the Home Folder (or sub folders you create) once in My Files. Files uploaded here are available to open via This PC > Home Folder

SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD software delivers powerful design functionality with the intuitive SOLIDWORKS user interface to speed your design process and make you instantly productive.

If you are new to SOLIDWORKS, we recommend that you start with the INTRODUCING SOLIDWORKS Guide.

Below are free training videos from MySolidWorks.com. You can open these videos in a separate Web browser so you can use the training videos along with the SOLIDWORKS in the browser version.

• Editing Parts 
• Bottom up Assembly Modeling 
• Introduction to Drawings and Detailing 
• Starting a Sketch on a Plane or Face 

You can access the training files used in the videos. Click File > Open. In the dialog box, browse to Libraries > Documents > SOLIDWORKS Product Trial > Training Files.

Tutorials are available in the product to help you learn SOLIDWORKS subjects from basic to advanced. Click Help > SOLIDWORKS Tutorials to navigate to the topics.

Finally, a collection of sample files are also included in the SOLIDWORKS Product Trial folder to help you further explore SOLIDWORKS capabilities.

The SOLIDWORKS software is maximized (dynamic) to your browser window size.

To experiment with video resolution settings to find the best balance of performance and clarity:

• Click  Settings  > Screen resolution    (upper left of the browser window) to find the setting that works best. Most people use Match local display.

You might also need to experiment with your browser's zoom level. A value less than 100% causes buttons and menus in SOLIDWORKS to shrink. To make them more accessible, increase the zoom level through your browser’s settings.

Increase the zoom level in your browser's settings to 100%. This setting is available in all supported browsers, but its location varies. In Google Chrome, for example, the zoom level is in the Zoom section of the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.