2. 02
01
In this section, I have added
all the tips from the assembly
workspace of Solidworks.
All the tips from the sketch
environment and part
modelling workspace are
listed in this section.
Assembly
Workspace
Sketcher and
Part Modeling
T A B L E
O F
C O N T E N T
03
In this section, I have added
all the tips from the drawing
workspace of Solidworks.
Drawing
Workspace
3. Introduction
Over the years of working with Solidworks, I have collected several
small and big Solidworks tips and tricks which I have compiled in
this eBook.
These tips are divided into different categories like sketches, part
modeling, Assembly and drawing.
If you have questions, suggestions or more tips for this eBook then
let me know at admin@thesourcecad.com
4. Tip 2: Quick repeat of the last
command
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Tip 1: Direct sketches on edges
Select the edge of any 3D solid like a straight edge or an arc-type edge
then click on any Solidworks sketch tool.
It will enter the sketch environment and automatically create a plane
perpendicular to the selected edge.
You can now make a sketch on that newly created plane and you don’t
need to create a plane separately for the sketch, check the following
video for reference.
Click to check the video
When the line command is active and you want to exit the command but
want to start the same command again so as to make a sketch from a
different location then double click and the line will terminate and the
command will still remain active.
The same goes for other similar commands like Spline.
Click to check the animated GIF
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Tip 3: Selecting circumference or
centre for constraints
When adding smart dimension when you press and hold the shift key, the
dimension can be constrained to start from the circumference near the
point of click rather than from the center of the circle.
Click to check the video
Tip 4: Make arc and line using the
same command
In the line command when you move your cursor back to the last point of
the line command the geometry will convert into an arc and once you
finish making the arc it will return back to the line.
The way your cursor moves away from the last point will determine the
shape of the arc as well.
Alternatively, you can make a line and then with the line command active
hit the A key on the keyboard and the line will convert to arc again, press
the A key again to return back to the line.
Click to check the video
Tip 5: Quick way of copying
sketches
Press and hold the CTRL key then move any existing sketch and a copy
will be made of the selected sketch.
Click to check the animated GIF
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Tip 6: Activating 3D mouse
When working with a 3D mouse like the one from 3D connexion if the
mouse does not work then go to “Add-Ins” and make sure “3D connexion
add-In for Solidworks” is checked.
Make sure it’s checked at “start-up” so that you don’t need to do it every
time the software starts.
Tip 7: Showing recent files
Type R key and a recent files window will show up where all the recently
used Solidworks files will display.
You can open any file from this list simply by clicking on it.
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Tip 8: Creating shortcut for
commands
Go to Customize > Keyboard option and then search for the command
you want to create a shortcut for.
Type the shortcut key from your keyboard that you want to assign to that
command and press OK.
Now instead of using the command manager interface, you can type the
assigned shortcut and the command will launch.
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Tip 9: Adding command to shortcut
bar
Go to customize > Shortcut bars and there you can select a command
and add it to the shortcut bar.
Alternatively, you can search for a command in the shortcuts bar and then
click the + icon to add it to the bar.
To remove any command simply move it away from the bar after going to
customize > shortcut bars.
Click to check the video
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Tip 10: Rotating view to align with
the selected plane
To rotate the view of the selected sketch plane automatically with respect
to the view direction go to Options > Sketch and the checkbox that says
“Auto-rotate view normal to sketch plane on sketch creation and sketch
edit”.
Tip 11: Converting image into
sketch
To automatically convert a high-contrast image (usually a black and white
or two-color image) into a sketch automatically in Solidworks you can use
its Autotrace feature.
To use this feature go to the Add-ins option from the quick access toolbar
menu and activate the “Autotrace” add-in as shown in the following image.
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After activating the add-in go to the sketch option and activate a sketch
plane then go to the “Tools” menu “sketch tools” and “Sketch picture” and
select the picture from where you want to extract the sketch.
Now click the next arrow in the Sketch picture palette and select the eye
dropper and click the area with dark contrast from the image as shown in
the following video.
Tip 12: Make sketches on any plane
To make a sketch on any plane of an existing 3D solid without creating or
changing planes for every sketch you can use the rapid sketch tool.
Activate rapid sketch from the sketch command manager then select a
sketch tool and directly start making a sketch on any plane of an existing
3D solid.
Click to check the video
Now click Begin trace and SolidWorks will generate a sketch using that
picture.
You can scale the picture before tracing it to fit the sketch as per your
drawing. You can hide this picture after tracing or even remove it if you
want.
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In file explorer, if you don’t see the thumbnails of your files then you can
select this option to make them visible.
Go to options from the command manager and then select general and
check the option “Show thumbnail graphics in windows explorer” option
as shown in the following image.
Tip 13: Showing file thumbnails in
explorer
After selecting this option make sure you select “large icons” in the view
option of file explorer as well and the thumbnails will show up for all the
parts and assemblies.
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Tip 14: Command search feature
If you know the name of a command but don’t know its location on the
Solidworks interface then this tip is for you.
The command search feature is on the top right corner of the SolidWorks
interface.
Simply type the name of the command and the command with similar
commands will show up.
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You can start the command directly by selecting it from there.
You can also see its location in the user interface by clicking the eye icon
next to the command.
14. Tip 16: Selecting hidden features
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Tip 15: Checking details with the
magnifying glass
To select a feature which is hidden from view because of another
component in an assembly select the mate tool then move your cursor
above the object which is obscuring your view then right-click.
From the menu that shows up select the option “Select other” and then
select the object you want from the list of objects that shows up as shown
in the following image.
Pressing G opens a magnifying glass which can be used in the assembly
environment to zoon into tight spaces without orbiting complete
assemblies.
Click to check the animated GIF
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In an assembly press and hold the tab key and move your mouse over
components, components touching the cursor will hide.
To bring back hidden components right-click in the work area and select
“Show hidden components” from the context menu and then select the
components you want to show again one by one or by a selection
window.
After selecting the feature you can repeat the same option to select more
features in an assembly that are directly not visible.
Tip 17: Hiding components
Click to check the video
You can also hover your cursor over a component and then press the Alt
key one by one to hide selected components.
Tip 18: Automatically apply
constraints
Select an edge or face of a component then press and hold the alt key
and move the component to another edge or face of a different
component.
This will automatically apply the applicable mates in the assembly
between the mating components or it will show you a “Mate” flyout where
you can select the mate to apply from the options.
Click to check the animated GIF
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You can also select a specific file type from the list as shown in option B of
the image and the folder will only show the file types that you need.
Tip 19: Filtering assembly files
based on the type
When opening assemblies you can create a quick filter to show just the
assembly or only top-level assembly files from your folder containing
hundreds of files.
This makes sorting through the list of files very easy.
Additionally, you can only load the assemblies using the different modes
like “lightweight”, and “large design review” and resolved as shown in
option C of the image.
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The “Large Design Review” option opens an assembly with graphics data
only which loads up the assembly very quickly.
You can still use the edit assembly feature to insert or remove
components, mates, and patterns in this mode of assembly.
Lightweight mode opens the assembly with graphics and geometric data
and you can load feature data as required.
This mode is also faster as it loads features on demand.
Resolved will load the entire assembly with all the data in it and it is the
slowest.
Tip 20: Selecting drawing view
Press and hold the ALT key to select the drawing view even when the
cursor is just inside the bounding box.
Click to check the animated GIF
If you don’t press and hold the ALT key only clicking directly on the view
will select it and clicking on the bounding box will not select it.
18. About this Book
This revised and updated edition of the Solidworks
tips eBook is written by Jaiprakash Pandey with inputs
and suggestions from our team here at SourceCAD
Learning.
Thanks, Kalpana for compiling all the tips into a
beautiful eBook format.
Though this edition is revised meticulously still not
immune to errors and if you find any please reach out
to me at admin@thesourcecad.com
This book is protected by copyright and its reprint or reuse in part or full is prohibited without
permission from the author.
Author
Jaiprakash Pandey
