Why is there a Funnel next to my Selection Pointer?

Everyone has at some point in time been working in SolidWorks when you realize that you are no longer able to select what you want and that is when you notice the Funnel next to your Selection Pointer. So what is that funnel and how did it get there? 

What this Funnel is is a Selection Filter and is used to help select specific types of items in the graphics area or drawing sheet. This more than likely got turned on by accidentally selecting one of the Hot Keys on the keyboard. There are 3 Hot Keys or Keyboard Shortcuts assigned to Selection Filters E for Edges, F for Faces, and V for Vertices. You can access the full Tool Bar by Right Clicking on any of the existing Toolbars and selecting the Selection Filter Toolbar or by hitting F5 on the keyboard.

 
If you are looking for a fast way to turn off or Clear All Filters you can hit F6 on the keyboard.

Josh Altergott

CATI Support Team Leader

How to Copy a Part in an Assembly with Mates

So you have an assembly and have been given the task of inserting multiple copies of the same part into it. The question then becomes what is the fastest way to create all of these instances and have them properly mated into position. As with most tasks in SolidWorks there is always more than one way to get the job done.

The first is if you are going to use the part file on a continuous basis then you can utilize Mate References. Mate References are found in the Reference Geometry Sub Menu on the Features Toolbar. In the Mate Reference property manager you specify different geometry for the First, Second, and Tertiary Mate. For each mate you can specify a specific Mate type based upon the selection or go with the default. You can also specify a Mate Alignment for each mate as well. Generally you will then want to add you file with it Mate Reference to the SolidWorks Design Library so that it can be used again just by dragging and dropping from the Design Library.

 

 

The second option is the one I personally use the most and that is Copy with Mates command which can be accessed through the Insert Components sub menu from the Assembly Toolbar. This is very easy to use, it gives you the ability to Repeat if the Mate is going to be same, Flip Alignment and even change distance or angle depending on the mate type you select. This a great option if you have more than one of an item to insert into your assembly.

Josh Altergott

CATI Support Team Leader

What Does the License Count Mean in the SolidNetwork License Administrator?

Every time someone new works on their companies SolidWorks Network License Administrator for the first time we usually get the support call asking why the license count in the License Administrator is different than what they actually own.

 
If we take a look at an example from one of our customers you will see that the license count for Standard SolidWorks is 67 seats but in the SNL Admin it show that they have 98 Standard SolidWorks seats listed. This is because the customer really owns 67 Standard, 2 Office, 7 Professional, and 22 Premium seats and if you add all that up it equals 98 seats. How the SNL Admin works is that is breaks down the each of the seats that is a higher level than Standard into 2 seats (1 Standard and 1 with additional features) by breaking down the licenses it allows all users equal access to the functionality of the higher level seats. So when you start SolidWorks in the morning and have no Add-Ins turned on you get the Standard SolidWorks to start with then at some time later in the day you need to add some hardware to an assembly so you turn on SolidWorks Toolbox it will now go out to the server and pull the next license that is available whether it be Office (no longer available for purchase), Professional, or Premium.

You have the ability to control the order in which the licenses are distributed from the SNL Administrator and you also have the ability to create an options file that will control what users do/do not have access to the different types of SolidWorks.

Josh Altergott

CATI Support Team Leader

2011 SP3.0 Early Visibility

Solidworks is in early visibility for service pack 3.0 as of today. Both versions are availble X32 and X64.

 

Todd Werginz

Technical Analyst

Computer Aided Technology

Why are there different Sketch icons in my Feature Tree?

Today’s question from the support log is “Why are there different Sketch icons in my Feature Tree?”

The original support call we received the customer was only asking about 2 specific icons that they saw but for this article I thought I would expand on all the different icon symbols that you could see in the Feature Tree for a part file.

First up is the state of a sketch:

• (+) - Over Defined


• (–) - Under Defined


• (?) - The sketch could not be solved


• No prefix - Fully Defined

With any of these Sketch states you may also see a second sketch icon that has a polygon and included circle. This indicates that one has used "Sketch Contours" for a feature. Sketch Contours are a means to use parts of a sketch (region(s)/boundaries) to create a feature.

Next up are the Errors and Warnings that are displayed next to part, feature, or sketch icons and described in tooltips (when the pointer hovers over the item) and in the What's Wrong? Dialog box.

•  - An error in the model


•  - An error with the feature


•  - A warning underneath the node


•  - A warning with the feature

The last item is the state of External References that are displayed next to part, feature, or sketch icons:

• If a part or feature has an external reference, its name is followed by –>. The name of any feature with external references is also followed by –>.


• If an external reference is currently out of context, the feature name and the part name are followed by ->?


• The suffix ->* means that the reference is locked.


• The suffix ->x means that the reference is broken.

Josh Altergott

CATI Support Team Leader

 

 

How to Remove the Locks in the SolidWorks Customer Portal

So in looking back through our call log one of the calls that I see time and time again is a customer who is new to SolidWorks or new to a company that when they create a new account to the SolidWorks Customer Portal they see locks on a majority of the links in the portal.

 
When you create a new account to the SolidWorks Customer Portal (https://login.solidworks.com/nidp/idff/sso?id=cpenglish&sid=2&option=credential&sid=2) you have two options, to create an account as a Guest or as a Customer. If you create your account as a Guest you will the first time you log in see a series of locks on almost all of the selections in the portal. If you register as a customer and your serial number is recognized then you should have no locks on any items and be free to Download Software, search the Knowledge Base, etc…..

 
So after you create and an account and if you still need to remove the locks it is pretty simple to remove them. You will need to go to one of the few unlocked links for Register My Products in the My Support section and when you do so you will be prompted to enter in your SolidWorks Serial Number.   If you do not know your serial number the easiest way to get your serial number is to go into SolidWorks and from the Help dropdown menu and select About SolidWorks. Once you enter the SolidWorks Serial Number you should now see all of the locks removed from the portal. If you are still locked out then you will want to check your subscription end date and make sure that has not passed, if your subscription has expired then you will want to contact your local VAR to find out your options to get you current again.

 
Josh Altergott

CATI Support Team Leader

Can you install 2 versions of SolidWorks on the same computer?

A common question we get on the support line is “Can I install 2 versions of SolidWorks on the same computer?”

The simple answer is Yes, it can be done but there are several things to think about when you do your 2^nd install and configuration of SolidWorks.

#1. What version(s) of SolidWorks are you wanting to install and what version of Windows and Microsoft Office are you running. You can view the System Requirements on the SolidWorks Website for specifics of what is supported (http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html).

#2. Create a backup of your current SolidWorks settings using Copy Settings Wizard, this is more of a precaution than necessity just in case something goes wrong with your installation.

#3. Who else are you working with? You need to think about working with other engineers in/out of the office and what versions of SolidWorks are they running, remember you can save a 2010 file as 2011 but you cannot save a 2011 file as 2010.

#4. Installation Location – You need to make sure that you specify during the installation process a location that is different and identifiable, if you look at the image below you can see that I have a different location for my installations.

 

#5. Toolbox Location – During the installation you need to specify that you want to create a new Toolbox vs. upgrading the existing.

 
#6. Template Locations – If you have company specific templates stored in a network or on a local drive you will want to create a copy of that folder and rename it specific to the version you are going to use it with.

 
#7. SolidWorks System Options – Once your installation is complete you will want to run both versions of SolidWorks and check that your File Locations, Default Templates, and Hole Wizard Locations.

 
 
 
Josh Altergott

CATI Support Team Leader