Graphics Systems SolidNotes

The Importance of Copy Settings Wizard in SolidWorks

Now that you’ve installed your SolidWorks and have it just as you want it……………. Back Up Your Settings!

 

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, if you have SolidWorks issues it’s nice to be able to restore your settings.

Or, maybe you want to establish a company standard for SolidWorks settings; this can be accomplished with the copy settings wizard.

The following is from SolidWorks Help:

The Copy Settings Wizard saves, restores, and propagates system settings to users, computers, or profiles.

When you select options for the SolidWorks software, those settings are saved in a registry file, and the software recognizes the settings from one release of SolidWorks to the next. For most users, no action is necessary to maintain their settings. However, you can use the Copy Settings Wizard to distribute settings.

You can Save or Restore system settings for:

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Menu customization
• System options
• Toolbar layout (All toolbars or Macro toolbar only)

You save settings to a file and then restore them to the following registries:

Profile	Registry
Current user	CURRENT_USER of current user
One or more network computers	LOCAL_MACHINE of selected computers
One or more roaming user profiles	CURRENT_USER of selected users

 Only system administrators should copy settings to network computers or roaming user profiles. When you restore settings to network computers, the settings apply to new SolidWorks users on the specified computers. You can restore settings to roaming user profiles only if your company uses roaming user profiles.

 

To save system settings:

1. Optionally, exit SolidWorks.

You can save settings while SolidWorks is running but any options set during the current session are not saved.

1. In Windows, click Start, All Programs, SolidWorks <version>, SolidWorks <version>, SolidWorks Tools, Copy Settings Wizard .
2. In the dialog box, select Save Settings, then click Next.
3. Browse to a location and file name, select the types of settings, then click Finish.

The wizard confirms that the settings have been written to the specified file.

5.  Click OK.

 The settings files have a default extension of .sldreg. If you double-click a file with this extension, the Copy Settings Wizard appears.

To restore system settings:

1. Ensure that the computer or user to which you are restoring settings is not running SolidWorks.
2. In Windows, click Start, All Programs, SolidWorks <version>, SolidWorks <version>, SolidWorks Tools, Copy Settings Wizard .
3. In the dialog box, select Restore Settings, then click Next.
4. Browse to a file from which to restore settings, select the types of settings to restore, then click Next.
5. Select the type of destination (Current user, One or more network computers, or One or more roaming user profiles), then click Next.

If you selected:

• Current user - skip to step 6
• One or more network computers - a list of available computers is displayed
• One or more roaming user profiles - a list of available users is displayed

1. Select a user or a computer and click Add, repeat until you have specified all computers or users, then click Next.
2. Select or clear Create backup of current settings for <each_computer_or_user>, then click Finish.

The wizard confirms that the settings have been copied successfully.

1. Click OK.

Update Your SolidWorks Network License Manager to 2013

It’s time to upgrade to SolidWorks 2013, if you have a network license you will need to update your License manager first. Don’t worry, the 2013 License manager will still allow your 2012 and other legacy clients to run.

You will need to be on subscription and have a SolidWorks Customer Portal Account at: http://www.solidworks.com/sw/2109_ENU_HTML.htm

After you log in you should be on the support page. Under the Download heading click on Downloads and Updates

The Downloads page should pop up defaulting to the SolidWorks tab

Choose SolidWorks Version 2013 if it is not there by default

Under Product, select one of the SolidWorks; for this it won’t matter if it is 32 or 64 bit (x86 or x64).

The EULA (End User License Agreement) page will pop up, if agreeable, choose

 Accept Agreement & Continue

A Download and Install Page will pop up

Near the bottom of the page, under Step 3, will be the following paragraph:

If the Installation Manager Assisted Manual downloads fail, you can individually

Download, unzip, and install the files (not recommended).

 

Click the blue words to follow the link to manually download files; we want a specific file for the license manager.

A new page pops up Titled Manual Installs

It should say: Update to: SolidWorks 2013 Vista/Win7 32-bit Service Pack x.x

The defaults for the language (usually English here in the Midwest) and version SolidWorks Standard are fine

Click Continue

On the Manual Download Packages Page

Scroll down to Step 5 and click on SolidNetwork License Manager to download it.

This is the file you want to put on the SolidWorks License Manager Server.

Open the file and run the .exe (double click)

Follow the next prompts, it will open a dialogue box for your SW serial number, it may fill it in for you, please check it against your documentation for accuracy.

You should be able to "next" through the process until finish, it may ask for some registration or credentials - nothing difficult.

Afterwards go to all programs and open the SolidWorks 2013 folder then open the SolidWorks license manager

If prompted to activate say yes; afterwards open the License Manager again and proceed, some of these steps may seem redundant, but they are necessary

Click advanced options make sure Use Activation is marked - click ok

Back on the main screen choose modify, click the Activate/Reactivate a software license radio button, then click next

Your serial number should show shaded in the box

Make sure Automatically over the internet is chosen

Enter an email address and choose Next

Transferring will begin

The next screen should show the activated products, the version should read 21

Then click finish

Click ok on the next screen and you should be done

How to Uninstall all “.NET” Framework Files

• Uninstall all .net FrameWorks:
  • On Windows Vista/win 7:
    • First remove all .net frameworks (including .net compact frameworks) from Programs and Features.
    • Under Programs and Features >select ‘turn Windows features on or off.’
    • Deselect/un-check Microsoft .NET Framework 3 or 3.5 and Tablet PC components >OK.
  • On win XP: uninstall .net frameworks (from 1 to latest in REVERSE order >uninstall the higher version first) from add/remove program. Additionally uninstall patches applied to all .net frameworks (if there are any) >Uninstall all .net compact frameworks if installed.
• Download .net cleanup utility (dotnetfx_cleanup_tool.zip) from following site (see link for downloading zip file): http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2008/08/28/8904493.aspx
  • Unzip it >Run cleanup_tool.exe > In dialog Products to cleanup: .net Frameworks – All versions >select ‘Cleanup Now’. REBOOT 
• Uninstall VC++ redistributable components (both 2005 and 2008)
• Uninstall VSTA [the Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Application]
• Uninstall existing MSXML components listed in Programs/features.
• Restart the computer.
• Log on a Windows session with a local administrator account.
• Make sure Antivirus and Firewall is turned off.
• Return to ‘turn Windows features on or off.’ and turn ‘Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5’and ‘Tablet PC components’ back on
• Reinstall: vc++ 2005 and 2008
  • <DVD root>\prereqs\VCRedist\vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe
  • <DVD root>\prereqs\VCRedist9\vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe
  • Make sure you install both x86 and x64 exe’s on 64bit OS.
• Install MSXML 4 from:http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3144b72b-b4f2-46da-b4b6c5d7485f2b42&displaylang=en 
  • (Download msxml.msi file and run it).
• Install MSXML6 from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=993C0BCF-3BCF-4009-BE2127E85E1857B1&displaylang=en#filelist 
• Install VSTA : <DVD>\prereqs\VSTA\vsta_aide.msi
• Restart the computer.
• Log on a Windows session with a local administrator account (Make sure Antivirus and Firewall is turned off).
• Try Re-installing SolidWorks.

The Best SolidWorks Tip That Isn’t A SolidWorks Tip At All

To paraphrase an old expression, “you can never be too rich, too good-looking, or…have too many backup copies of your files.”

We all know we should back up our files, and…we all learn the hard way what happens if we don’t.   I have become particularly sensitive to this after a server crash – I have external drives hanging off almost every USB port in my computer.    Our resident IT guru recently posted on a network utility, and it put me in mind of one of my favorite go-to programs, and hence the topic of this post: The Best SolidWorks Tip That Isn’t A SolidWorks Tip.

The utility is a simple but very overlooked one called Robocopy, or Robust File Copy.   It is a command-line program that has shipped with Windows since Vista but can be downloaded and compatibly run with XP as part of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit.    The key distinction between it and using any number of tools, such as Windows Explorer, is that it only copies files that have changed since the last copy.   Hence, your first backup will take the same amount of time as any other method, but subsequent backups will be very quick.   Additionally, there are options for accurately replicating the destination folders even if the sources have changed, i.e., you’ve deleted/moved folders or files. Of course, there are ways to use wildcards to denote only certain file types, and exceptions to folder lists as well.   Plus – and this is big plus – the command will recursively keep retrying if there is an error, such as loss of network connectivity.   A typical command line (I throw these into batch files for ease) might read:

Robocopy c:\sourcedirectory n:\destinationdirectory /s /purge

This example will copy all files, including subdirectories, and delete any no longer existent files.

Like any command line utility, all the options and examples can be listed by typing Robocopy /? at the command window prompt.   And if you Google around enough, you’ll even see some free GUI front ends out there on Microsoft TechNet.

So…what does this Tech Tip have to do with SolidWorks?    Let’s see….ever had to remodel a part or lay out a drawing or assembly after a computer problem of some sort, and your computer or server hadn't been backed up recently?   That’s what I’m talking about!

Manage Devices on your Network for Free!

So you want to see what's on your network without spending thousands of dollars for that specialized software that will tell you everything? Spiceworks is the perfect free software for you.

I manage our IT department and wanted/needed to know what was on our network. I found this great free product called Spiceworks. If you want to spend some money, they do have a paid version that eliminates the advertisements but I wouldn’t bother they are very subtle, I hardly notice them.

So what does this free software do for me, a lot? For example I can…..

• Find out what software is installed on our systems
• The status of our printers
• Which computers are on warranty and which ones are running out
• See who has the latest security software installed
• Track my entire inventory for switches to servers
• Set up a Help Desk so I can create help tickets and track problems

I find that it makes my IT life so much easier. I bet your thinking I must own stock in the company or maybe I’m getting some cool free stuff. But I’m not. I just think it's a great product and the price is right. From one IT person to another, with so much to offer you can’t go wrong!

Check out the product for yourself at the Spiceworks website. Hey it has to be good they have SpiceRex

 

How to Keep Your Graphics Card Driver Safe

After you have gone to http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/videocardtesting.html and downloaded your correct, approved, tested, video driver for your card to run SolidWorks correctly you need to keep it from changing or updating.

Windows 7 wants to install the latest drivers from Windows Update by default. This is great for your mouse, keyboard, printer, etc., but not for your graphics card.

To change this: right click on Computer in the start menu, click properties and choose advanced system settings from the side menu bar, choose the hardware tab and click the Device installation settings.

This will bring up a menu with the question: Do you want Windows to download software and realistic icons for your devices?

Choose the option: No, let me choose what to do.

A new set of choices will drop down, if you choose: Install driver software from Windows update if it is not found on my computer it will only use windows update as a last resort for finding an appropriate driver.

See web resource http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/show/2057 for basis of this information.

 

SolidWorks License Management With Transfers

In keeping compliance with the SolidWorks Eula it is a good idea to know how to transfer a license. Many Solidworks users do not realize that an uninstall of SolidWorks does not automatically release the license. It is easy to do and reduce the amount of headache in license management.

Before uninstalling SolidWorks, changing a hard drive, or reinstalling windows:
1. Open your SolidWorks
2. Go to the help pull down and choose transfer license. This will free the license to be reinstalled or used on another computer.

Installing the license (serial number) is done through: Control Panel -> Programs -> Modify
1. Modify will bring up a SolidWorks Installation Manager pop-up screen
2. Choose Modify the individual installation. This will bring you to a screen that allows the insertion of a serial number
3. Click next through the screens filling in asked for information until finished

When you open SolidWorks it will activate and you will be creating once again!!

Please join the Graphics Systems group on Linkedin for more technical tutorials!

Twenty Years, Sci-Fi and eDrawings for iPad

Today marks my 20th anniversary at Graphics Systems Corporation. Originally, I was going to blog about how engineering and design technology has changed. You know:

• 2D CAD that used to cost $4000 is now freely available at no charge
• 3D CAD that used to require heavy, specialized hardware and cost $30,000 now runs on laptop computers, costs less than $4000, and does more
• Simulation that used to take days to set up and run can now be completed in minutes, while enjoying the same economies of cost and standard hardware as 3D CAD
• Data management that took years to implement, cost well into the six-figure range and was too complex for most people to use can now can be implemented in weeks, at a fraction of the cost, and can be used by anyone
• Tools now exist to allow the direct reuse of 3D CAD data for manufacturing, marketing, and technical publications professions, eliminating the manual recreation of data that used to be necessary for those functions.

It turns out, however, something far more exciting happened today in the SolidWorks community than my 20th anniversary in the MCAD industry. Today, we can begin to mimic Scotty and Geordi and carry our engineering data in the palm of our hands, for today eDrawings for iPad has been released.

This is an incredibly important step in the development of the SolidWorks ecosystem. eDrawings for iPad is an excellent tool, and this first effort has enough functionality to make it very useful on the shop floor, in the conference room, and in the field. File access is available through traditional iTunes file transfer and services such as Dropbox; however, there are already iPad clients for ePDM that allow raster preview of data, so I would expect at some point in the future these two technologies will get together. That's not any inside information, that's just me making an easy prediction.

Twenty years from now, we'll be doing design on touch devices and our data will be instantaneously accessible from anywhere on the planet. Actually, that will probably happen in half that time. Maybe in twenty years we'll be doing better than that -- think about the interface between Tony Stark and Jarvis.

(What? You've never seen Iron Man, and you're reading this blog? You need to Netflix/iTunes/Redbox/on-demand it, because as much as anything, it's a movie about the future of design and manufacturing. Notice how I didn't say "go out and rent it"? Yeah, we're in a bit of the future right now...)

So, here's to twenty great years of computer-aided design, engineering and manufacturing evolution. Hit me back in 2032 with whatever technology we'll be using, and I'll do a follow-up.

Oh, did you want more about eDrawings for iPad? Try here to read about it and see a video of it in action, and here to download it from the Apple App Store (it'll cost you a whopping $1.99). If you want to get your own files into the app, you can use any file-access app (like Dropbox) and "Open With..." to bring it into the eDrawings app. It works by displaying the graphics for native SolidWorks files, so you don't need to upload all the parts to go along with an assembly, unless you want to view the parts individually. That's pretty much all the training you're gonna need -- download it, play with it and use it.

Updating SolidWorks License Manager to 2012

Many of our customers are updating to SolidWorks 2012 Network or are installing it for the first time. The steps are relatively simple and as follows:

To update your license server:

1. On your SW2012 DVD look for the file labeled swlicmgr, scroll to the bottom and choose the setup.exe and double click to run.
2. Follow the next prompts, it will open a dialogue box for your SW serial number, the program may fill it in for you, please check it against your documentation for accuracy.
3. You should be able to "next" through the process until finish, it may ask for some registration or credentials - nothing difficult.
4. Afterwards go to all programs and open the SolidWorks 2012 folder - the SolidWorks tools and open the SolidWorks license manager
5. Click advanced options make sure Use Activation is marked - click ok
6. Back on the main screen choose modify, click the Activate/Reactivate a software license radio button, then click next
7. Your serial number should show shaded in the box
8. Make sure "Automatically" over the internet is chosen
9. Enter an email address and choose Next
10. Transferring will begin
11. The next screen should show the activated products, the version should read 20
12. Then click finish
13. Click ok on the next screen and you should be done.

As always Graphics Systems Technical Support Team is available to help.

Using iPad or iPhone as a 3D controller for SolidWorks

Do you have an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch? You may be suprised to learn that you can use your personal iDevice to control SolidWorks!

A Canadian company called Maide has developed apps that are targeted to different scenarios.

The first is called CadControl, and it allows you to use your iPad as a 3D controller to interact with SolidWorks as you design.

You use CadControl as you would a combination 3D controller and old-fashioned digitizer. Multi-touch gestures allow you to rotate, pan, and zoom the 3D model. There are large zones on the iPad screen that, when tapped, allow you to jump to the standard top/bottom, right/left, front, and isometric view orientations.

Additionally, there is a pop-up "command ring" that give you five customizable buttons. The defaults are auxilary keys like shift, control and spacebar, but the potential is there to change those items. In future versions of the app, the intent is to have the ring show up as a ghost on the SolidWorks screen, so you don't have to take your eyes off your monitor. It works that way in some other 3D apps now, but Maide is relatively new to the SolidWorks market.

The second app is called CadRemote, and it's designed for those who are using a 3D model as part of a presentation. Your iPhone or iPod Touch effectively works like a Nintendo Wii controller, using the gyros in the device to let you rotate the model in SolidWorks. You move your thumb or finger around the screen, and it serves to pan the view. There is a zoom slide control on the side of the screen that you can operate in the same way. But if you hold your thumb or finger down on the screen, that's when the gyros take over and the Wii-like action kicks in. It takes some getting used to, but after just a few minutes I got the hang of it pretty well.

Both apps are free to download from the App Store. In order for either app to work with your SolidWorks computer, there is a small application you need to install from Maide's website. That application software is like driver software for other 3D controllers (there is a general Windows component and a SolidWorks add-in) and is pretty self-explanatory. Note that since the apps on your devices connect to your computer by way of WiFi, you need to have everything on the same WiFi network. That works great if you're in the office or hotel with WiFi, but if you don't have a WiFi network to hook onto, the apps can't communicate with your PC.

If you have an Apple mobile device, why not give these tools a try? You can get more details (and watch some videos of these apps at work) by heading out to Maide's website.

For more tips, tricks, and useful CAD resources, be sure to check out the Graphics Systems' LinkedIn Page!