You may have heard about this great ability to use a clean uninstall feature now in SolidWorks.  Well, we Composer users aren’t quite as lucky.  If you want a complete uninstall of 3DVIA composer, it is still a manual process.  Fortunately, it is relatively simple.

From the Windows Control Panel, choose Programs, then Programs and Features. Find and uninstall all 3DVIA listings.

Then you will want to delete any folders relating to 3DVIA on your hard drive. You might find 3DVIA folders in the following locations:

Make sure you do not have any custom styles or profiles existing in these folders that you’d want to keep.

Depending on your installation, there may be additional folders from previous installs or folders may not be named exactly the same.

Install directory:
“%Program Files%\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer”

User data:
For XP, “Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\3DVIA Composer”
For Vista® and Windows® 7, “Users\<username>\Documents\3DVIAComposer”

After deleting folders, edit the Windows registry to remove the following keys (some keys may not be present of your system). To access the Windows Registry Editor select

Run…… in the Windows Start Menu, type regedit, and hit OK.

IMPORTANT:

Edit the Windows Registry at your own risk. Before editing the registry, it’’s recommended to create a backup.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer

Note: If you would like assistance in completing any of these steps
Contact Symmetry Solutions Technical Support

It’s that time of year again.  Many of us are in the process of migrating to the latest release of SolidWorks.  Along with that comes the usual questions.  Today we will answer one of those for you, updating your license server.

• The previous version of the SolidWorks SolidNetwork License (SNL) Manager will need to be uninstalled before installing the new version.
• First, transfer the activation for the program by launching the SolidNetwork License Manager on the server, choosing the Server Administration tab, clicking the Modify button, and transfer license.
• Next, uninstall though the Windows Control Panel, Add or remove programs for Windows XP, or Programs and Features for Windows Vista and 7

NOTE:  As of SolidWorks 2010, the SolidWorks SolidNetwork License Manager is activation based and no longer requires a dongle plugged into the server machine.  If you are currently using a version that required a dongle, remove it and mail it back to Symmetry Solutions, 8755 Brooklyn Blvd, Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

• Now you will need to install the new version of the license manager from the DVD or a download you have for the new SolidWorks version
  • For the installation type, Select the Server Products radio button then check the option to Install SolidNetwork License Manager on this computer
  • Follow the prompts in the installation manager to complete the installation

• When the install is done, you’ll need to activate the product. This will generate the license file used to determine what licenses you have available.  Launching the SolidWorks SolidNetwork License Manager software from the Windows Start menu should automatically bring up the activation Wizard
  • If you need to access the activation options at anytime to transfer the license or activate/reactivate the software, go to the server administration tab and select Modify…

• On the first window, take note of the computer name and port number.  If you are updating the SNL Manager on the same server computer, this information will not change, but if you are installing on a new or different server, this information will be needed for the client install.
  • At this time, you can point to an option file if you have created one.

• Select the Next to bring up the next dialog asking how you would like to activate:  Automatically over the internet or Manually via email.
  • You can do it in either way but it is recommended to do it automatically if you have internet connection. The recommended way will be quicker and only take a few seconds while the manual way will take a few minutes to complete.

• After completing the activation, a dialog will appear letting you know it was successful and will show what licenses you have available

YES!

I don’t care if you just bought the software or if you have been using SolidWorks for five years or even longer. If you have never had any type of formal training, you should, and here’s why…

I was one of those people who never had training. The company I worked for when I started using SolidWorks decided that we were smart enough to learn the software without spending any money on training. And they were right – partly. Between the five of us using the software we were able to figure out a way to do almost every task that we needed to complete the job.

Check out our SolidWorks Courses and Schedule

After about three years of working with SolidWorks I considered myself a fairly accomplished user and decided to venture out and find a new job where I would again be using SolidWorks. That led me to Symmetry Solutions. Which confirmed how good I had become using this tool right? After all, I was hired to provide technical support for our customers.

Now feeling even more confident in my abilities, I was slightly offended when the on-boarding process at Symmetry Solutions required I attend the introductory training class, SolidWorks Essentials. During the first day I picked up a few shortcuts that I had not seen before. Well, I thought, at least it wasn’t a complete waste of my time. By the end of the class I realized how little I truly knew about this tool I had been using for years. The amount of time I had wasted over the past three years doing things the wrong way was mind boggling. In retrospect the amount of money my previous employer had paid me to do things the wrong way, the long way, was almost obscene.

Since then I have become one of the SolidWorks certified instructors here at Symmetry. Over and over again, I hear from my students that have been using the software for years that the knowledge they gain through the SolidWorks training courses is invaluable. Until you take a course you don’t realize how much you don’t know.

What do you use SolidWorks for?

• Sheet metal? We have a class for that.
• Assembly modeling? Yes, we have a class for that.
• Mold design? We have a class for that too along with many other general and specialized curriculum.

Sure, training revenue is part of what pays our bills. But I can honestly say that the investment you or your employer makes in training will more than pay for itself in a very short time. It is well worth the investment.

We have been preaching to you forever about the importance of fully defining your SolidWorks sketches. Now that you have (hopefully) accepted the reasoning behind the recommendation, today’s tech tip will help you reduce the time it will take you to accomplish this task.

Introducing, the FULLY DEFINE SKETCH command. Well it was actually introduced several years ago but it may be new to you.

The Fully Define Sketch tool calculates which dimensions and relations are required to fully define under defined sketches or selected sketch entities. You can access Fully Define Sketch at any point and with any combination of dimensions and relations already added.

To fully define a sketch:
1. Edit a sketch.
2. Click Fully Define Sketch (Dimensions/Relations toolbar) or Tools, Dimensions, Fully Define Sketch.
3. Set the options for relations and dimensions in the Fully Define Sketch PropertyManager.
4. Click the green check mark.

That’s it. To simplify it even further, you can program a hotkey to invoke the command. Now that you know how simple it is to define your sketches, there is really no reason not to. Try it. You might like it. I know your sketches will be happy.

Click for Hi Res Image

Everyone knows that .pdf files are a great, simple way to communicate documents electronically. Most SolidWorks users are aware that you can create .pdf documents from SolidWorks. Did you know you can create Adobe PDF documents with embedded 3D models? You can convey complex 3D designs to all of your partners and clients no matter what tools they use. This allows the recipient to do things such as rotate, pan and zoom the SolidWorks model inside the pdf document. They can also do things such as change background colors and display styles as well as several other functions.

Now a simple right click inside of the Adobe Reader with the .pdf open and you are working in 3D.

Have you ever thought to yourself “Why did the SolidWorks developers do it that way?  It should work differently!”  Or how about “Why didn’t they find/fix that bug before they released the software?”  Or maybe you are in the camp that will never install the latest release of SolidWorks until at least service pack 2 because you are “waiting for the kinks to be worked out”.

Now is your chance to help resolve these issues before they affect you and your design team.  Join SolidWorks 2012 Beta today!  This is your opportunity to impact the quality, performance, and reliability of DS SolidWorks products while getting advanced access to the latest version of SolidWorks.

In addition, SolidWorks 2012 Beta Program includes contests where you can show off your SolidWorks skills and get points and valuable prizes for testing the software.  You can also check out the special competitions!

Download Beta today and start earning points and help shape the future of SolidWorks.

http://www.solidworks.com/beta/beta-terms-accept.htm?ref=%2Fbeta%2Fdefault%2Ehtm&qs=fromrss%3D1

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard accelerators let you perform 3DVIA Composer commands more quickly than graphical commands.

To create and manage shortcuts, right-click the ribbon and click Customize Quick Access Toolbar. In the Customize dialog box, for Keyboard shortcuts, click Customize.

Note: Single-character shortcuts, such as H to hide an actor, are hardcoded in the application and are not displayed in the Customize dialog box.

Default Shortcuts

Who needs IT?   Well, in reality we probably all do to some extent.  But let’s be honest.  IT seldom understands what engineering truly requires.  If you and the receptionist have the same computer, you are going to need some help.  Here are several tips and tricks that you can do yourself to improve the performance of your SolidWorks.  Some of them we have been preaching for years.  Some of them may be new to you.  Each one will help you performance at least a little.  Using all of the following tips should make a noticeable difference.

Here we go.

1. Save your files to the most recent version of SolidWorks. 
2. Move/copy all of your files to your local machine while you are working on them. 
3. Turn off Real View Graphics. 
4. Use SpeedPak for your assemblies. 
5. Reduce your image quality.  
6. Turn off verification on rebuild. 
7. Limit external references. 
8. Turn off all of you add-ins.
9. Modify/simplify any parts that you downloaded.
10.   Only make your sub assemblies flexible if needed.
11.   Use lightweight assemblies/drawings.
12.   Use Large Assembly Mode

These are just options inside of SolidWorks that can improve your performance.  In addition, there are settings for your computer and operating system that you can modify without needing to call in IT.

But don’t just take my word for it.  Here is a link to a fantastic video presentation from SolidWorks World 2011.  http://www.solidworks.com/sww/proceedings/proceedings-presentations.htm.  Not only will it give you additional steps to improve your performance, but the presenters from Computer Aided Technology, Inc.  also quantify how much you gain from taking these and other steps.  You will be amazed what a difference it makes.

This week our tech tip will not be about SolidWorks. It’s time to give a little attention to the 3DVIA Composer users out there.

IMPORTING STEP FILES
When importing STEP files, be sure to clear the “Merge file into one actor per part” flag. This is important in that it ensures that the geometry nodes in the assembly tree contain names of the part rather than Object 1, Object 2, etc. Now when it comes time to update the STEP file, the update will have a higher success rate.

Happy Publishhing

As a member of the Technical Support Team at Symmetry Solutions, each year we are required to be recertified by SolidWorks.  Part of the recertification test is focused on new functionality and features for the latest release of SolidWorks.  As you may or may not know, there is a “What’s New” file for every new release of the software that documents these changes.  You can access this file from your help menu in SolidWorks.  Like many, I am one of those people that scan the document for some highlights when I install each new release.  However, since my recertification test was approaching, I thought I would give it a more thorough read.  You know what I discovered (again)?  There is a lot of good information in that document.  I won’t try and summarize the entire thing, but here is one tip that I think may be useful if you are in the process of updating hardware:

“You can transfer a license from a computer even if SolidWorks is no longer installed on that computer. You can download and run SolidWorks Activation Wizard from the SolidWorks customer portal to transfer the license.”

So now when you get that annoying message about “Activation Count Exceeded” because you forgot to transfer the license off of your old computer, you no longer need to call technical support to resolve the problem.

Note, the tool is new and currently only applies to SW2011 installations.

Take some time and read through the “What’s New” document (again).  It may not be the most fun reading material available, but I recommend it for all SolidWorks users, as it can help you get the most from your software.

P.S.  You will be happy to know that all the members of your SolidWorks Technical Support Team here at Symmetry Solutions passed their recertification test.