These Release Notes contain information about new and changed functionality that was not available when the documentation was completed. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to this document and the online help, which is updated with each SolidWorks Service Pack.
Beginning with SolidWorks 2004
Service Pack 5, Windows
If you install PDMWorks
If you install PhotoWorks
If you install SolidNetWork License (SNL) on Windows XP Service Pack 2, you must modify ports on the license server and modify the license file. Refer to the SolidNetWork License Installation and Administration Guide.
If you use additional Internet firewall software, you must add the two ports to your firewall exceptions list. Refer to the procedure, "To modify ports on the license server," in section 6 of the SolidNetWork License Installation and Administration Guide.
SolidWorks 2004 is the last version to support Windows Me and Windows NT�. This is aligned with Microsoft's schedule to phase out support of these operating systems. For more information, see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=lifecycle.
If you are a Windows Me or a Windows NT user, it is strongly recommended that you upgrade your system to one of the SolidWorks recommended operating systems.
SolidWorks will not install unless Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6 or higher is installed.
If you are using SolidWorks on Windows Me for large models, or in a Windows resource-intensive or multi-language environment, you are strongly advised to switch to Windows XP or Windows 2000, which are much better suited to these circumstances.
Due to Microsoft limitations, you cannot install the SolidWorks application from a remote CD-ROM drive.
Beginning with SolidWorks 2004, the SolidNetWork License (SNL) and SolidNetWork License Administrator will no longer be backwards compatible with previous versions of the SolidWorks software. For example, if you have a SolidNetWork License for SolidWorks 2004, you cannot use it for SolidWorks 2003. However, versions after SolidWorks 2004 should be convertible back to SolidWorks 2004. Refer to the SolidNetWork License Installation and Administration Guide for more information.
The SolidWorks software no longer supports the InstallShield installation method. Only the Windows Installer (WI) method is supported. The WI installation has been simplified and streamlined to reduce the number of installation steps and user interaction.
The quality and performance of graphics can depend on the choice of graphics adapter and driver version. To help you avoid known graphics adapter and driver version specific problems, SolidWorks has tested several commonly used graphics adapters and driver combinations. The current list of tested adapters and drivers is available at www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html.
Using SolidWorks 2004 with a graphics adapter and driver version combination from the recommended list will ensure optimum graphics quality and performance. In several cases, using a different graphics adapter and driver version combination results in serious display problems and in some cases causes instability problems.
Depending on the available video memory, increasing either the screen resolution or the number of colors can force SolidWorks to run in software OpenGL mode. When this occurs, the Use Software OpenGL check box in Tools, Options, System Options, Performance is automatically checked and the check box is unavailable.
Mates to invalid faces appear with a warning icon in the FeatureManager design tree. In the SolidWorks 2003 software, they were suppressed without a warning.
The What's New book states that Excel-based Bills of Materials can no longer be created in the SolidWorks software. In fact, you can create either an Excel-based or a table-based Bill of Materials in a drawing, but not both.
You can now hide or show dimension lines and extension lines in the graphics area. Right-click a dimension line or extension line and select Hide Dimension Line or Hide Extension Line. To show hidden lines, right-click the dimension or a visible line and select Show Dimension Lines or Show Extension Lines.
The What's New book states that child drawing views move relative to parent views, and that for previous behavior to press Alt while moving the views. It should say to press Shift. When you press Alt, you can move a view by dragging the pointer from anywhere within the view. The same functionality applies to tables.
The wrap feature creates a plane from a non-planar face on which you can emboss, deboss, or scribe a new or existing sketch. The Wrap tool is on the Features toolbar.
You can select a feature, such as a simple hole, and pattern the feature on multibody parts using linear, circular, or mirror patterns. You can also pattern the feature on models with multiple features that are not merged.
When you import a DXF or DWG file that contains entities that cause import errors, in the DXF/DWG Import Errors and Warnings dialog box, click Open Report. This generates an *.err text file containing details of the import errors. The file is located in the same directory as the DXF file and contains the same information shown as when you click Details.
You can import entire DWG sheets as view only SolidWorks drawing sheets, which allows the direct display of the original DWG entities inside SolidWorks drawing documents. You can view, pan, zoom, and print these sheets.
(STEP and ACIS files only). In the Import Options dialog box, select Import multiple bodies as parts to import a multibody part as an assembly document. The multiple bodies are imported as part documents contained in the assembly. With this option cleared, the multibody part imports as a part document that contains multiple imported bodies.
When you import Pro/ENGINEER
You can save SolidWorks part, assembly, and drawing documents as PDF files. Save as PDF is not available on Windows Me.
The What's New book states that this translator supports bookmarks in the PDF file. The PDF translator does not support bookmarks in the PDF file.
Manipulating the position of light sources from the graphics area was available in SolidWorks 2004 Beta versions. This functionality has been removed from SolidWorks 2004 SP0.
All part documents, regardless of whether you applied a material to them, display the Material icon in the FeatureManager design tree.
The following additional graphics cards support RealView Graphics display:
If you customized a menu or a shortcut menu, click Tools, Customize, Options to show all menu items, or to reset all menu items to their default display.
If you select an entity by pressing down and releasing the mouse wheel, you can then rotate the model around the selected entity by holding down the mouse wheel while moving the mouse.
The I am following the tutorial option has been removed from the New SolidWorks Document dialog box. To access the tutorial template, do one of the following:
In Tools, Options, System Options, Colors, the following items have been renamed:
The following file locations have been added to Tools, Options, System Options, File Locations:
A new option, Automatically convert drawing views to draft quality when unloading components, is available in Tools, Options, System Options, Performance. This option changes drawing views from high quality to draft quality when you set the model views to lightweight.
A check box, Ignore links, has been added to the Find/Search dialog box so that documents that are shortcuts are not found and do not appear in the report.
PhotoWorks release 2, based on mental ray� rendering technology, has superseded previous versions of the PhotoWorks product. All subscription service customers of PhotoWorks have been upgraded to PhotoWorks release 2. Previous versions of PhotoWorks cannot be added-in to SolidWorks 2004.
You can no longer set the DPI resolution for a drawing document. Instead, click File, Page Setup, and select High Quality to print the document at the best possible quality.
The Curve Through Free Points tool has been renamed to Curve Through XYZ Points.
The SolidWorks software contains several pre-made sheet metal parts created with lofted bends. These parts are located in install_dir\data\Palette Parts\sheetmetal\lofted bends.
Any references to SolidWorks Piping are now called SolidWorks Routing.
The What's New book states on page 3-2 that the Create Sketch from Selections tool (previously named Create New Sketch) has moved to the Sketch toolbar. The tool is still on the 2D to 3D toolbar.
On page 6-16 of the What's New book:
The cut list has columns for DESCRIPTION and LENGTH that are not shown in the What's New book.
On page 6-12 of the What's New book, step 5 instructs you to select Other Side. You would normally select the other physical side of the gusset, rather than the same adjacent side as shown in this example.
For Arrow side, you can select the gusset (Face Set1) and both flat faces of the structural member (Face Set2) to apply fillet weld beads that are on the same side.
When you right-click an item with errors or warnings in the FeatureManager design tree, then select What's Wrong?, you can limit the contents of the list by selecting Show errors or Show warnings.
When you edit a part in an assembly and the Use specified colors when editing parts in assemblies option is selected, the specified color replaces face, feature, body, and part colors. In previous versions, face colors were not replaced. This option is located in Tools, Options, System Options, Colors.
You can control the color of imported and non-imported annotations. Click Tools, Options, System Options, Colors. The default for both Annotations, Imported and Annotations, Non-Imported is black.
For drawings created before SolidWorks 2004 SP1, annotations are displayed as specified by Dimensions, Non-Imported (Driven) or by the user.
The options for arrow size are now laid out graphically and the default settings have changed per ANSI drafting standards. The new settings take effect only for new installations or new drawing templates. To specify arrow size, click Tools, Options, Document Properties, Arrows.
When you insert balloons (single or stacked), click first to place the leader arrow, then click again to place the balloon. Previously, you placed only the leader, and the software placed the balloon automatically.
Under Part Configuration Grouping in the Bill of Materials PropertyManager, selecting Display as one item number resulted in components with multiple configurations being listed in one row with the quantity increased appropriately. Now components are listed in separate rows for each configuration, but with the same item number.
When you insert or select a dimension, handles appear so you can drag the dimension to slant the extension lines.
Two check boxes have been added to Tools, Options, Document Properties, Dimensions. If you select Include prefix inside basic tolerance box and specify ANSI drafting standard, text that you insert in the Dimension PropertyManager before the dimension appears inside the Basic tolerance box. If you select Automatically jog ordinates, ordinate dimensions are jogged when inserted.
An option has been added for ISO and related drafting standards. You can specify surface finish symbols to be displayed per 2002 standards. Symbols have been added to the Surface Finish PropertyManager for Local and All Around, and a new layout appears for symbols using ISO and related standards from 2002.
You can now access the properties of an inactive drawing sheet. Right-click the sheet icon in the FeatureManager design tree and select Properties.
When you select a view, the view name appears in the PropertyManager title.
SolidWorks 2004 SP1.0 and higher
now allows users to open encrypted Pro/ENGINEER
NOTE:
The SolidWorks application cannot open encrypted Pro/ENGINEER WildFire
The Performance Information Option dialog box has been renamed to Customer Experience Feedback Program.
Assemblies from Multibody Parts in the What's New book should be revised as follows:
Replace the text on page 5-6 with:
With the Create Assembly command, you can create an assembly in a single step from the bodies generated using the split command. The assembly that results from the Create Assembly command is identical to an assembly produced by opening a new assembly document and manually adding each of the component parts.
The procedure on page 5-7 is not correct as written for the Create Assemblies command.
PDMWorks no longer supports Web Portal servers with computer names that use Microsoft reserved characters such as underscores.
A new option, Save tessellation with part document, is available in Tools, Options, Document Properties, Image Quality. This option saves disk space and decreases save time when the part has detailed surfaces where the tessellation data is larger than the size of the geometry on disk.
You can now drag blocks, not only by their base points, but also by points of sketches within blocks. The points inference and snap to other points in the following ways: block-to-block, block-to-sketch, sketch-to-block, and sketch-to-sketch. For example, you can drag a block by the vertex of a rectangle inside the block and snap to the end point of sketched line on the drawing sheet or in another block. The snaps do not create relations, so you can drag the entities apart.
Centerlines are not inserted automatically when creating a new drawing view even if you specify auto insertion in Tools, Options, Document Properties, Detailing, when:
The model is in Large Assembly Mode
- or -
The number of components exceeds the threshold for large assemblies
You can override the specified options for detail, section, and auxiliary view labels. Right-click the label and select Manual View Label Text, or select the label and click Manual view label in the Note PropertyManager, then edit the label in the graphics area. Even if the view name or scale changes, the SolidWorks software does not update the label. However, if you clear the check box in the PropertyManager or right-click the label and clear Manual View Label Text, the label updates according to the View Label options.
The ACIS translator supports all SAT versions up to and including version R12.
The Inventor translator supports all Autodesk Inventor� versions up to and including version 7.
You can replace an imported feature
with geometry from Solid Edge
The IGES translator supports layers when you export an assembly document as an IGES file. In the Export Options dialog box, you must set the Surface representation/System preference to MASTERCAM. The assembly components in the IGES file appear on layers that you can turn on and off in Mastercam�, or in other applications.
The SolidNetWork License Installation and Administration Guide has been updated to include detailed information regarding SolidNetWork License (SNL) installs, troubleshooting, and using SNL with add-in products.
The SolidWorks Service Packs Installation and Administration Guide has been updated to include detailed information about downloading and installing SolidWorks service packs. It also includes a glossary for reference.
The SolidWorks Toolbox in a Multi-User Environment Guide is a new document that describes how to install the parts and databases for SolidWorks Toolbox in a shared folder. This ensures that your colleagues use the same parts and databases.
Microsoft support for Office 97 ends January 16, 2004. SolidWorks 2004 SP2 is the last version to support Office 97. Beginning with SolidWorks 2004 SP3, you can still use Office 97 for design tables and BOM's, but it will no longer be supported by SolidWorks. We recommend that you update your Office 97 installation to Office 2003, Office XP, or Office 2000. Please refer to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];lifeOffice for more details.
SolidWorks 2005 will be the last release that supports Office 2000.
SolidWorks 2004 Service Pack 2 includes support for Microsoft Office 2003 in the languages supported by the SolidWorks software.
PDMWorks now recognizes folders named SolidWorks Data as Toolbox document folders.
New features have been added to the Check Sketch For Feature Usage dialog box so you can determine if a sketch is valid for the selected feature.
You can dimension and measure between points (endpoints, intersection points) within a block. Any dimensions you add are static (non parametric); they do not update if you change the block. If you move the block, the dimensions stay in place.
You can snap to and infer from block points to sketches and blocks on a drawing sheet, the sheet format and the drawing views. Additionally, you can snap to and infer from sketch points to other sketch points on the drawing sheet and the sheet format.
The Mechanical Desktop translator now supports MDT4.0 files in Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
PDF format is limited to a sheet size of 129x129 inches (327.66 cm). A message warns if any sheets in a drawing document exceed the limit; sheets that are too large are not included in the PDF file.
The options for High quality transparency for normal view mode and High quality transparency for dynamic view mode have been removed.
A new option has been added, Preview when inserting new components. Clear this option to improve performance.
Another new option, Display edges in shaded mode, has been added. Clear this option to improve performance.
The following additional graphic adapters support RealView Graphics. Go to www.solidworks.com/pages/services/videocardtesting.html for specific driver information.
3Dlabs� Wildcat� VP 560
3Dlabs Wildcat VP 760
3Dlabs Wildcat VP 870
3Dlabs Wildcat VP 970
3Dlabs Wildcat VP 880 Pro
3Dlabs Wildcat VP 990 Pro
ATI� Fire GL(TM) X1
ATI Fire GL X2
ATI Fire GL X2 256T
ATI Fire GL T2 128
ATI Fire GL T2 64
ATI Fire GL T2 64s
ATI Mobility Fire GL T2
Nvidia Quadro FX Go1000
The Maximum option under Anti-aliasing quality has been renamed to Very High. The Samples slider moves to the corresponding value as you select the different Anti-aliasing quality options. These options and the slider are on the Document Properties tab of the Options dialog box.
The aspect ratio now appears under Image size in the Render to File dialog box.
The Selected Datum option under Mapping reference has been renamed to Selected Plane. This option is on the Texture tab of the Material Editor and Decal Editor dialog boxes. The functionality remains the same.
Reference points are supported with the Convert Entities tool.
The SolidWorks 2004 software will be the last version to support the SolidWorks MoldBase add-in. Beginning with SolidWorks 2005, the components from SolidWorks MoldBase will be free via 3DContentCentral (www.3dcontentcentral.com). 3DContentCentral will provide all mold designers with free access to DME, PCS, Progressive, Superior, and Hasco catalog components.
The following new statistics in Tools, Assembly Statistics have been added: unique part documents, unique sub-assembly documents, top level components, and bodies. Also, the number of unique parts and unique sub-assemblies now includes suppressed models.
A new option is available in the Bill of Materials PropertyManager, Display as one item configurations with the same name. When selected, if more than one component has the same configuraion name, (as defined in Part number displayed when used in a bill of materials), they are listed in one row of the BOM.
A new option in the Drawing View Properties dialog box, Keep linked to BOM, overrides the automatic linking of a BOM to a drawing view. As long as the BOM exists and Keep linked to BOM is selected, the SolidWorks software uses the selected BOM to assign balloon numbers. If you attach a balloon to a component that is not in the BOM configuration, the balloon appears with an asterisk (*).
A new Screw type named Straight Pipe Tapped hole is available on the TAP tab for the DIN standard. This tapped hole represents the DIN 3858 standard.
ACIS version 13.0 is supported for export.
The SolidWorks software supports
the import of password-protected AutoCAD
The MDT translator now supports MDT 2004 and MDT 8/DX.
When you perform a silent installation, you can install SolidWorks Harnessing. This add-in can only be installed when you install SolidWorks Routing. SolidWorks Harnessing is not available for Windows 98 and Windows Me operating systems.
The XchangeWorks utility now supports AutoCAD 2004.
A new option, Print breaklines in broken view, has been added to Tools, Options, System Options, Drawings. When selected, break lines are printed in broken view drawings.
Create electrical cables similar to the way you create pipes and tubes. You can:
Define electrical components such as connectors.
Define the path of a cable in a 3D sketch that is parametrically related to components.
Automatically generate splines between points with Auto Route and drag-and-drop clips.
Specify wire properties and connection requirements.
Note: SolidWorks Harnessing is a separate add-in application for use with SolidWorks Routing.
Create 2D documents of wire harnesses and cables from 3D electrical route assemblies. You can:
Insert additional wiring materials such as bundle covering and terminals.
Generate actual-size harness board drawings.
Highlight individual wire paths and connectors.
Place connector package views.
Attach terminal part number information to wire endpoints based on wire gauge and connector properties.
Generate bills of materials, circuit lists, and connector-wire insertion tables.
The SolidWorks Routing online help available with the software is in English only. The localized versions will be in the SolidWorks Help .zip file on the Subscription Support Downloads page as soon as they become available.
The Insert documents read-only check box on the Browser tab of the Configure Browser dialog box has been removed. SolidWorks Toolbox parts follow the read-only status of the file attributes.
Low head socket head cap screws for DIN 6912 have been added to the SolidWorks Toolbox library of parts.
Structural member end trim angles are now added to custom properties for Cut Lists.
By default, a table-based bill of materials has a column labeled QTY. (or <configuration_name>/QTY. for assemblies with multiple configurations). To change the QTY. label, double-click the label, then place the pointer at the end of the text and press the spacebar so an extra space appears after the word QTY. (For example, QTY. <space>). Alternatively, you can delete the period after QTY. When you rebuild the drawing, any changes that you make to the label are saved.
In the Bill of Materials PropertyManager, under Part Configuration Grouping:
There are two new options:
Display configurations of the same part as separate items. If a component has multiple configurations, each configuration is listed in the BOM.
Display all configurations of the same part as one item. If a component has multiple configurations, the component is listed in only one row in the BOM.
The option, Display as one item configurations with the same name has been renamed to Display configurations with the same name as one item.
A new option, Restrict top level only BOMs to one configuration, is available in Tools, Options, Document Properties, Tables. When selected, BOMs designated as Top level only in the Bill of Materials PropertyManager are restricted to only one configuration. This way, the label for the quantity column does not change if you change the configuration in the BOM.
The following additional graphic cards support RealView Graphics display:
Nvidia Quadro FX 330
Nvidia Quadro FX 540
Nvidia Quadro FX 1400
Nvidia Quadro FX 4400
ATI Fire GL V5000