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SOLIDWORKS File

Management and Relations

Tom Cote

CAD Admin / Data Management Specialist

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Agenda

• How file are connected

• Broken references

• Locating & Fixing

• SolidWorks File Search

order

• References

• File

• External (in-context)

• Changing

• SolidWorks Explorer

• Pack & Go

• Duplicate File Names

• File Management

tips/suggestions

• Data Management

Solutions

• Questions

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How Files are Connected

The file was moved or renamed

now SOLIDWORKS does not

know where to look for the file or

what file name to look for

SOLIDWORKS files have pointers that reference other SOLIDWORKS files

Assemblies have pointers to Parts

Drawings have pointers to

Parts or Assemblies

Which creates a link between them Broken Reference

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How many of you have seen one of these message from SOLIDWORKS?

Broken References

SOLIDWORKS 2013 SOLIDWORKS 2014 SOLIDWORKS 2015

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How many of you have seen one of these message from SOLIDWORKS?

Broken References

SOLIDWORKS 2015

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Broken References

-You renamed the file & SOLIDWORKS does not know the new file name

-You renamed the folder & SOLIDWORKS does not know the new path

-You moved the file & SOLIDWORKS does not know where you moved it to

-You deleted the file

What does it tell you?

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Locate Missing File Messages

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• One way to have an assembly model or a drawing file re-establish a lost

reference is to have the model open in RAM. (providing you have not

changed the file name).

• This can be time consuming if there are a lot of files!

Recovering Lost References

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Re-point the file references by selecting “File > Open”

and then select the “References” button

Manually Re-pointing References

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Re-pointing the “References” manually, one at a time is error prone, tedious

& time consuming

Manually Re-pointing References

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• Right click on a file & select Rename…

Manually Renaming, Moving & Replacing Files

• This method will “Update where used” BUT only the file references contained

in the same folder, it will not search in any other folder.

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Search Order1. RAM (Random Access Memory) – if a file of the correct name is already open, it will use this file,

reiterating the need to use unique file names

2. User Defined Paths (Tools>Options>File Locations>Referenced Documents – setting these additional

directories can speed up finding files if you specify the location you normally save files to (Note that it

does not search into sub-folders)

3. The last Path you opened a file from – When a parent document is opened, SolidWorks will search the

same location for the children

4. The last path the system used to open a file - this applies if the system automatically opened a

document last

5. The path the reference document was located when the parent document was last saved – in case

the parent document was moved. This excludes the drive(C:, D:) location

6. The path where the reference document was located when the parent was last saved with the

original drive destination – as above but with the absolute path

7. If Still not found, a message appears asking you to browse for it yourself.

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The Full Search Order1. RAM (Random Access Memory)2. User Defined Paths (Tools>Options>File Locations>Referenced Documents

3. Search the Path in step 2 plus the last folder in the path were the last document was last Saved

4. Search the Path in step 2 plus the last two folder in the path were the last document was last Saved

5. Repeats Steps 4 until the full original path has been appended to the path in step 2

6. Recursively searches the first path in the folders list, then recursive searches the path where the

referenced document was last saved.

7. Repeats steps 2 through 6 for the other folders in the Folders list8. The last Path you opened a file from 9. The last path the system used to open a file

10. The path the reference document was located when the parent document was last saved

12. The path where the reference document was located when the parent was last saved with the original

drive destination

13. If Still not found, a message appears asking you to browse for it yourself.

11. Searches the full path where the document was last saved without a drive designation

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Step 3 – 7 ExplanationExternal reference list

S:\AA\BB

Last saved location

C:\WW\XX\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\BB\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\BB\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\BB\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\BB\XX\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\BB\WW\XX\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7 S:\AA\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\XX\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\AA\WW\XX\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\XX\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

S:\WW\XX\YY\ZZ\FILE.EXT

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SWx Help on the 13 Steps of Search Order

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• A file reference is the file pathname. The File, Find References options lists the

pathname of the referenced Document

• An External Reference is a geometry reference from one file that is dependent

on geometry in another file.

File References vs. External References

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Add the folder (path) to Options > File Locations > Referenced Documents

Referenced Documents

Notice that the sub-folders have to be

listed as well. SolidWorks does NOT

search into the sub-folders automatically,

they must be listed.

Adding folders to search DOES slow

SolidWorks down, use this method

as a last option

It’s #2 in the SolidWorks Search Order

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Look how busy it can get

Internal

part

In-context

Reference

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Really Busy !!!

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An easy way to change file references is the Save As command, but note that this

feature has changed a lot in the last few SOLIDWORKS releases.

Changing References

• 2012, 2013 & 2014 all had changes

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The Save As command in SOLIDWORKS 2012 and prior had the “old” problem

that you would still be working on the original file NOT the new file that you

saved.

Changing References

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In SOLIDWORKS 2013

Changing References

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Now in SOLIDWORKS 2014

Changing References

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Save As (NOTE: you are making a new copy of the file or files!)

Save As with References

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Save As with References (cont.)

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• You can add a prefix or suffix, &/or change folder location

• Using Save As from within SolidWorks does NOT have an option to “get” all the

drawings and Simulation files like Pack & Go does

Save As with References (cont.)

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SOLIDWORKS Explorer is a file management tool designed to help you perform

such tasks as renaming, replacing, and copying SOLIDWORKS files

SOLIDWORKS Explorer

• Close SOLIDWORKS (or make sure the files you are going to work with are not open in

SOLIDWORKS).

• Has the ability to rename files and tell any referenced documents about the name

change to ensure the references are updated without error. The files do not need to be

open to perform this function.

• To launch SOLIDWORKS Explorer you have 3 choices:

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Using SOLIDWORKS ExplorerA - SOLIDWORKS Search Assistant easy method to

search files locally (uses Windows Desktop Search)B - File Explorer pane Shows the content of your computer it is a Windows

Explorer type look

C - Document Information pane Information about the active file

D - Standard toolbar for setting options and

help topics

E - Property/Operation tabsFor finding file property info, references, where a

document is used, it’s configurations, hyperlinks

and an 3D representationF - TagsAdd a tag (searchable property) to the selected

document

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SOLIDWORKS Explorer can do a lot more than simply rename files. It can be used to move files, perform a Pack & Go, and even modify custom properties; all without launching SOLIDWORKS.

Using SOLIDWORKS Explorer

PACK & GO

REPLACE

CHECK-INOPEN

RENAME FIND IN VAULT

MOVE

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Rename: A dialog box doing a search for all the items that are linked to

that document will show up.

From there you can rename and the links will remain intact!

Copy: you can actually use the MS standard “cut & paste” to move a file

from one folder to another. YES; the references do update

Using SOLIDWORKS Explorer

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Accessing Pack & Go through SOLIDWORKS

Explorer

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Accessing Pack & Go through SOLIDWORKS

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SOLIDWORKS will let you have duplicate file names following the rules set by Microsoft

Duplicate File Names

• But Remember – eventually duplicate file names WILL cause you a problem

Both of these parts are named

Motor Bracket.sldprt but are in

different folders

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Rename an assembly with in-context references

In-Context References

• You can use File > Save As and then select Referenced but then you cannot

include drawings automatically

• If you use Pack & Go you can select to have it automatically select the

drawings as well

-> Indicates an External reference

->? Indicates an External reference without parent model loaded into memory.

->* Indicates an external reference that is locked.

->x Indicates that the external reference is broken

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File Management tip when NOT using a PDM

System

One place for all; SOLIDWORKS file folder structure and a separate library file structure

This will make it easier to find things ,run backups and reuse files.

Adopt & follow a consistent method for file and folder naming - When manage files and folders, it is

very important that you develop a naming scheme for the kinds of files you create most often and then

ALWAYS be consistent and stick to it.

Consider if you want to use P/N &/or Description &/or Revision in your file name.

Use shortcuts and shortcut links instead of multiple copies - If you need to get to the same file from

multiple locations, don't create copies of the file. Create shortcuts to it instead. Shortcuts are links to files or

programs and are represented by icons with an arrow in the lower-left corner.

Don’t apply these or any other best practice blindly. You should understand why it’s recommended, and whether or not it applies to your situation.

Standardize your templates & formats – Put them in a central location and have ALL users “pointing” to

them.

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File Management Tip (cont.)Standardize your file names – File names “should be” unique. Description should be specific so that you

can determine what is inside even if you do not open it. Opening files takes a lot of your time. This will also

help in not losing file relations having multi files with duplicate file names.

Separate ongoing and completed projects

Separate finished projects from the ones which you are still working on or at least consider locking (making

folder read only) once a job is released

Use File Properties & tags - File Properties are details about a file that helps Identify it. They also Provide

additional Search criteria to which you can find files

Back up your files regularly - Whether you're copying your files onto another drive or onto tape, it's

important to set up and follow a regular back up regimen

Save your file often while working

Save each Drawings Rev level as a PDF - Give you some thing to refer back to

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SOLIDWORKS Data Management Solutions

ENOVIA

PLM

Global Product

Lifecycle Management

Separate Program

5 - 500 usersSolidWorks

Enterprise PDM

Enterprise Data

Management

In Professional & Premium versions

1-9 usersSolidWorks WorkgroupWorkgroup Data

Management

Free and available for download

<5 users with good filing practicesSolidWorks ExplorerPersonal File

Management

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Data Management Solutions

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Other Resources

http://www.pdmsolution.com

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Questions ??

Thank You!

Tom Cote

tcote@appliedcadsolutions.com

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