FIGURE B.45 The System Options ➪ File Explorer page n Show in File Explorer view: File Explorer is the Windows Explorer–like part of the Task Pane, as shown in Figure B.46. Notice that it has a folder for documents that are currently open in SolidWorks, as well as a recent documents list. The panel will disappear after you use it once, although you can click the push-pin icon to keep it displayed. This is a very useful panel. FIGURE B.46 The File Explorer panel 970 Appendixes Part VIII 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 970 The Task pane can be detached from its default location on the right side of the screen and either allowed to float or dock on the left side. Search The Search options are shown in Figure B.47. Windows Desktop Search is integrated into the new SolidWorks Search function. In order for this function to work properly, Windows Desktop Search must be installed (it is located on the SolidWorks CD-ROM), and then your drive or drives must be indexed, which will take some time. FIGURE B.47 The System Options ➪ Search page n Search while typing: With this option enabled, the search takes place immediately as you type the string to be searched instead of waiting for you to press Enter. This enables you to see results on partial strings as well as the complete search name. The SolidWorks Search feature is shown in Figure B.48. TIP TIP 971 Tools, Options B 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 971 FIGURE B.48 The SolidWorks Search function n Results per page: The search returns results in the Search panel of the Task pane, with easy-to-see previews, filenames, and path information, as shown in Figure B.49. You can also search on custom property information, as well as keywords. FIGURE B.49 SolidWorks Search results 972 Appendixes Part VIII 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 972 n Maximum results per data source: This setting allows you to specify limits, so that you are not overwhelmed with all of the available data. n Index Now: After guiding you through a wizard to narrow down the hard drive areas where you keep data that you want to be indexed, this option initiates the Windows Desktop Search Indexing function, as shown in Figure B.50. You can also specify search paths through the Search Paths option at System Options ➪ File Locations. FIGURE B.50 The Windows Desktop Search Indexing Status dialog box Collaboration You should consider using the Collaboration settings when setting up a PDM application or a man- ual document management system between multiple users. The Collaboration settings are shown in Figure B.51. n Enable multi-user environment: This option enables the rest of the collaboration options. n Add shortcut menu items for multi-user environment: When you select this option, the items Make Read-Only and Get Write Access become available on the RMB (shortcut) menu and the File menu. There is no indication on the FeatureManager whether individual parts in an assembly are read-only or read-write. The only indication appears at the top of the screen, after the filename, where it is indicated in brackets, for example, as [Read-Only]. Another way to check is to look at the File ➪ Find References lists; a read-only indicator appears after the filename. n Check if files opened read-only have been modified by other users: This option will check open read-only documents, at the indicated interval, for changes. TIP TIP 973 Tools, Options B 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 973 FIGURE B.51 The System Options ➪ Collaboration page Document Properties In this case, the term “Document Properties” refers to the settings that are specific to each individ- ual document. This does not have anything to do with File Properties or Custom Properties. Document Properties settings are stored in templates and reused when you use the template to cre- ate a new document. I often hear the question, “Can I change the template used by a document?” The answer is always “No.” However, you can change the settings. Some tools exist that can help you take a list of set- tings and write them to a group of documents. These tools are available on the Internet for down- load. One that I am familiar with is an Excel spreadsheet with some VBA programming that handles this function. The following list details each of the Document Properties settings and gives some insight about when and why you should use each setting. 974 Appendixes Part VIII 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 974 Detailing The Detailing Document Properties page is shown in Figure B.52. FIGURE B.52 The Document Properties ➪ Detailing page n Dimensioning Standard: The options are ANSI, BSI, DIN, GB, GOST, ISO, and JIS. A very important note for American users is that for some default SolidWorks document templates, ISO is the standard. When the ISO standard is used, First Angle Projection is used for projected views rather than Third Angle Projection, which is the standard for ANSI. This can lead to drawings that are incorrect by the ANSI standard, and will seem more than a little confusing until you understand what is going on. Another situation where you encounter the First-versus-Third-angle-projection problem is in the System Options tab, on the Display/Selection page. The Viewport tool is set to use First Angle, whether you install with ANSI or not. There is no comprehensive list of all of the differences in SolidWorks settings between the various standards. If you use documents with different standards, then you will need to create different templates for each standard. Be sure to search through the options to find out the differences between the standards. CAUTION CAUTION Settings below this line are found only in drawings. Settings above the line are found in all document types. 975 Tools, Options B 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 975 n Dual Dimensions Display: Users of older versions will cheer when they see the options that are available in Dual dimensions display. Figure B.53 shows the effects of the display options. FIGURE B.53 The different options for Dual Dimensions Display n Fixed Size Weld Symbols: This option toggles between the control of the size of the weld symbol being taken from the drawing standard (the option is turned on) or the doc- ument font size (the option is turned off). n Display Datums per 1982: Figure B.54 shows the difference between the 1982 and 1994 standards for datum display. FIGURE B.54 The 1982 and 1994 standards for datum display n Leading Zeroes: Generally, leading zeroes refers to a single zero to the left side of the deci- mal if that place is not occupied by a number. The options are Standard, Show, and Remove. Standard means that the leading zero display for that dimension will follow the standard. Show will always show a leading zero, and Remove will always remove the leading zero. Standards for leading zeroes may be different for different units. For example, using the ANSI standard, the dimension .015in. does not get a leading zero, but the dual dimen- sion 0.38mm does. n Trailing Zeroes: The options are Smart, Show, Remove, and Standard. While the last three options are self-explanatory, the Smart option means that even if the standard calls for trailing zeroes, they will be removed if they follow a whole metric number. For exam- ple, in the measurements, 4.00mm and 4.50mm, the Smart option only removes the trail- ing zeroes from the 4.00mm value, to make it 4mm. NOTE NOTE 1994 1982 976 Appendixes Part VIII 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 976 n Alternate Section Display: Figure B.55 shows the difference between standard and alter- nate section displays. FIGURE B.55 Using standard and alternate section displays n Centerline Extension: When a centerline lies on top of a section line, the centerline extends past the section line by a value determined by the standard, unless the distance in this text field is changed. n Extension Line Gap: This is the distance between the part and the extension line, as shown in Figure B.56. FIGURE B.56 The Extension Line Gap, and the distance beyond the dimension line Beyond dimension line The gap shown between the part and the extension line Standard section Alternate section 977 Tools, Options B 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 977 n Beyond Dimension Line: This is the distance that the extension line extends beyond the dimension line, as shown in Figure B.56. n Datum Feature Display Type: The options are Per Standard, Square, and Round (GB). Figure B.57 shows the difference between square and round datum feature symbols. FIGURE B.57 Square and Round Datum Feature Symbols n Next Label: This option establishes the next letter to be used in the Datum feature symbol. n Surface Finish Symbols, Display Symbols per 2002: This option alters the display of the surface finish symbols for the following standards to reflect changes to those stan- dards in that year: BSI, DIN, GB, GOST, and ISO. Up to now, I have discussed options that pertain to all document types. Starting from here, I will discuss settings and options that are available only to drawing documents. n Auto Insert on View Creation: This setting determines which entity types you want to be automatically inserted from the model into drawings when the view is created. New for SolidWorks 2007 is the differentiation between center marks for holes and fillets. You can choose multiple items from the following options: n Center Marks-Holes n Center Marks-Fillets n Centerlines n Balloons n Dimensions Marked for Drawing n Bill Of Materials, Automatic Update of BOM: For this drawing document, the BOM either will or will not be updated automatically. This usually means that for every rebuild, the BOM will be updated. If you want the BOM to remain static, then you can turn off 978 Appendixes Part VIII 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 978 this option. You can also turn this option off to increase speed. For updated BOMs, turn this option on. n Cosmetic Thread Display, High Quality: Cosmetic threads on the backside of a part will be hidden if this option is on. To increase speed, you can turn this option off. Figure B.58 demonstrates that this setting only makes a difference for shaded model views on the drawing. For any Wireframe mode, the hidden cosmetic thread is not shown unless the hidden lines of the view are visible. FIGURE B.58 Cosmetic Thread display, using High Quality and Draft Quality n Area Hatch Display, Show Halo Around Annotations: A halo is simply a gap in the hatch pattern, as shown in Figure B.59. FIGURE B.59 A measurement with the Show Halo Around Annotations option turned on and off n Center Marks, Size: You can specify the diameter of the circle that the crosshairs of the center mark fit into. Draft and high quality Draft quality High quality 979 Tools, Options B 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 979 [...]... radius (c=1/r), and so the smaller the radius, the bigger the curvature 100 2 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 100 3 Tools, Options n Apply Same Color To Wireframe, HLR and Shaded: This setting is only valid in part documents This is probably one of the least-appreciated options in SolidWorks Many parts built and provided by SolidWorks Corporation as sample or tutorial parts do not use this setting,... This is new to SolidWorks 2007 In the past, thicker line types would have poorly jointed corners, as shown in Figure B.92 in the image to the left This line is using the Flat end cap style The square end cap style is shown to the right If this problem occurs when you use thick lines, you now have a way to fix it FIGURE B.92 Using the End Cap Style option to make thicker lines look better 100 1 B 46_080139... assembly The Image Quality options page is shown in Figure B.95 100 3 B 46_080139 appb.qxp Part VIII 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 100 4 Appendixes FIGURE B.95 The Image Quality options page BEST PRACTICE The best practice recommendation for image quality is to set it as low as you can stand it This may be at different levels for different parts The way SolidWorks (and indeed most 3D graphics applications) displays... is, “How do I make SolidWorks remember that I want to use inches instead of millimeters?” Of course, the answer is to use templates Set the units the way you want them on a blank document (or delete all of the features from an existing document), and save the file as a template This applies to parts, assemblies, and drawings 999 B 46_080139 appb.qxp Part VIII 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 100 0 Appendixes FIGURE... Denominator Depending on whether Decimal or Fractions has been selected for the units, the precision is set either with a number of decimal places or a denominator for the fraction 100 0 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 100 1 Tools, Options Line Font Many types of edges, identified in Figure B.91, can have special line fonts assigned to them You can even create custom line fonts, although the custom... Document Properties ➪ Arrows page n Size: The Scale With Dimension Height option disables the number selection box options and resets any custom numbers that you may have entered This option is new for SolidWorks 2007 Proportion of the arrows cannot be controlled when you use the scale option 991 B 46_080139 appb.qxp Part VIII 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 992 Appendixes n Section View Size: This setting works just... Revisions driven by revision tables can be either alphabetical or numerical n Multiple Sheet Style: Different users may want to control revision tables differently on different sheets of a drawing SolidWorks 2007 now offers three options: n See Sheet 1: This is just a note in the revision table that directs the drawing reader to the first sheet for the revision history n Linked: The revision tables on... SCALE:, or blank Options for the scale delimiter are blank, X:Y, (X:Y), X/Y, (X/Y), or #X, where # is an integer FIGURE B.88 The View Labels options page Display Label Above View is a new option in SolidWorks 2007 The default setting is to display the label below the view 998 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 999 Tools, Options Grid/Snap One of the first questions that new users tend to ask is how... high after you have them open in the assembly This can become frustrating unless you can find a good middle ground or a macro that changes the settings for you quickly and easily 100 4 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 100 5 Tools, Options n Save Tessellation With Part Document: This setting is valid for part documents only This option toggles the tessellated display data that is being saved in... see all of the component annotations in the assembly using a single set of settings, regardless of differences between settings in individual component files n Hide Dangling Dimensions And Annotations: SolidWorks has become increasingly “error-phobic” in recent releases, offering more options to make errors invisible Best practice is definitely on the side of fixing problems as they rise, rather than . is integrated into the new SolidWorks Search function. In order for this function to work properly, Windows Desktop Search must be installed (it is located on the SolidWorks CD-ROM), and then. complete search name. The SolidWorks Search feature is shown in Figure B.48. TIP TIP 971 Tools, Options B 46_080139 appb.qxp 3/26/07 5:42 PM Page 971 FIGURE B.48 The SolidWorks Search function n Results. to be automatically inserted from the model into drawings when the view is created. New for SolidWorks 2007 is the differentiation between center marks for holes and fillets. You can choose multiple