SOLIDWORKS Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Get started with SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD free trial!

Yes. Get started with SOLIDWORKS Design free trial!

Yes. The SOLIDWORKS for Startups Program is a robust program that offers hardware startup founders free SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software and other world-class products. In addition to the software, the program offers free training and co-marketing resources to help hardware startups succeed. Find out if your startup is eligible and sign up for SOLIDWORKS for Startups.

Yes. SOLIDWORKS Design for Makers offers SOLIDWORKS design and manufacturing solutions at a low cost for any maker. Learn more about SOLIDWORKS Design for Makers and start making today.

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.

Since your school already gives you access to our flagship product for students, use this version instead of signing up for the free SOLIDWORKS Design Standard for Students. SOLIDWORKS Design Premium for Students includes advanced features like linear static simulations, 3D routing (pipes/tubes/cables), advanced surface flattening, as well as our dull desktop suite of products like SOLIDWORKS Simulation, CAM, Electrical, Visualize, Composer and more. 

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.