“S” is for Speed

In SolidWorks the “S” key is assigned to the shortcut bar. The shortcut bar is a very handy set of icons that can drastically speed up modeling. When the “S” key is pressed the shortcut bar appears at the mouse pointer, giving you the commands you need where you need them.

The shortcut bar is also context sensitive which makes it even more useful. When editing a sketch you will have sketch tools, when editing a drawing you will have drawing tools and so on. Of course if you do not like the icons that the shortcut bar contains, you can customize them to suit your needs.

One last tip: If you like the shortcut bar, consider programming one of the extra buttons on your mouse to “S”, this will give you even faster access to the icons.