You can view the most recent Release Notes here.
For a list of fixed SPRs, click here.
Refer to What's New, available from the Help menu, for descriptions of new functionality.
Beginning with SOLIDWORKS 2020, DVD distribution media will be provided only on request. Contact your Reseller for more information.
SOLIDWORKS 2018 and later do not include the SOLIDWORKS Workgroup PDM product.
It is replaced by the SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard product.
SOLIDWORKS 2016 was the last release to support publishing models to 3DVIA.com.
For current information about SOLIDWORKS active products and End of Life products, see System Requirements. For Microsoft Operating System Lifecycle information, see Microsoft’s Windows lifecycle fact sheet.
SOLIDWORKS 2020 SP5 is the last release to support the Windows® 7 Operating System. SOLIDWORKS 2021 products will not install on Windows 7.
| SOLIDWORKS Version | SOLIDWORKS Support | Microsoft Extended Support | SOLIDWORKS Lifecycle Start | SOLIDWORKS Lifecycle End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SW 2018 | Yes | Yes | Oct 2017 | Dec 2019 |
| SW 2019 | Yes * | Partial (15 months) |
Oct 2018 | Dec 2020 |
| SW 2020 | Yes * | Partial (3 months) |
Oct 2019 | Dec 2021 |
| SW 2021 | No/Install blocked | No | Oct 2020 | Dec 2022 |
SOLIDWORKS 2018 SP5 is the last release to support the Windows® 8.1 64-bit operating system. SOLIDWORKS 2019 products will not install on Windows 8.1.
SOLIDWORKS 2019 SP5 is the last release to support the Windows Server® 2012 R2 operating system. SOLIDWORKS 2020 products will not install on Windows Server 2012 R2.
SOLIDWORKS 2018 SP5 is the last release to support the Windows Server® 2012 operating system. SOLIDWORKS 2019 products will not install on Windows Server 2012.
SOLIDWORKS 2017 is the last release to support the Windows Server® 2008 R2, SP1 operating system. SOLIDWORKS 2018 products will not install on Windows Server 2008 R2, SP1.
SOLIDWORKS 2020 SP5 is the last release to support Microsoft® Excel 2013 and Word 2013.
SOLIDWORKS 2018 SP5 is the last release to support Microsoft® Excel 2010 and Word 2010.
SOLIDWORKS 2017 SP5 is the last release to support SQL Server® 2008 R2.
To ensure successful installation and optimum performance, see System Requirements.
For optimum graphics performance and stability, see Video Card Requirements.
Beginning with SOLIDWORKS 2020, DVD distribution media will be provided only on request. Contact your Reseller for more information.
Some antivirus software prevents proper installation of SOLIDWORKS. For additional information, see Antivirus.
To modify an installation of SOLIDWORKS PDM Server and its components, use Programs and Features from the Windows Control Panel. You cannot modify the installation with SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager (SLDIM), even if that is what you used to install SOLIDWORKS PDM Server.
The new login feature in the Installation Manager automatically populates the serial numbers that your administrator has assigned to you. Assignment is done in the SOLIDWORKS Admin Portal. See Admin Portal Help for more information.
If your administrator has not accessed the Portal or not assigned any products to you, then you must manually enter your serial numbers or notify your administrator to assign products to you.
Some fonts that shipped in prior versions of Windows have moved into optional features in Windows 10. When upgrading to Windows 10, these fonts may not be installed on your system. If you find that a SOLIDWORKS document uses a font that is no longer installed on your computer, refer to Microsoft Knowledge base article 3083806.
SOLIDWORKS recommends using the 64-bit version of Microsoft Office. If you are embedding Microsoft Office 32-bit OLE objects in your SOLIDWORKS documents, refer to Microsoft Knowledge base article 983396 to fix OLE objects displaying as an icon.
Starting with SOLIDWORKS PDM 2017, the service pack for SOLIDWORKS PDM client can be different from the service pack for SOLIDWORKS PDM Server as long as they are the same major version.
SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional 2018 supports SOLIDWORKS 2018, 2017, and 2016. SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard 2018 supports SOLIDWORKS 2018 only. The combination of a newer version of SOLIDWORKS and an older version of SOLIDWORKS PDM is not supported.
The option Enable 3D Interconnect has moved. To access Enable 3D Interconnect, click . In File Format, select General.
If you use the Synchronize Settings system option, note that settings synchronization is an online service and might be blocked by some network configurations. To access the cloud storage service, ensure that firewall or proxy servers allow communications to *.solidworks.com.
When selected, the Optimize component placement when adding mates option places components in more logical positions on the screen and relative to other components when you create mates. To access this option, click .
When this option is cleared, one component in the new mate might be placed off screen or hidden behind or within other components.
In the dialog box, you can choose to wait for the command to finish (recommended) or to close the SOLIDWORKS software. If you choose to close the SOLIDWORKS software, you can send your comments and performance log data to DS SolidWorks Corporation (recommended). This benefits all users and helps improve the software's performance and stability.
To select this option, go to . You must restart the SOLIDWORKS software after selecting this option.
If this option is not selected, a Windows Not Responding dialog box appears when Microsoft Windows detects that the SOLIDWORKS software is no longer responding, even when the SOLIDWORKS software is working normally.
There are no items specific to service pack 4.0 at this time.
When you load an assembly in lightweight mode, if the assembly contains a Pattern Driven Component Pattern or Sketch Driven Component Pattern where the driving feature or sketch is in another component, that component is automatically resolved. To receive a notification before the component is resolved, select Prompt for the following option: .
All limitations listed under Service Pack 1.0 regarding post-processing of results from linear dynamic studies have been resolved.
You can open Autodesk® Inventor™ 2018 files in SOLIDWORKS 2018 SP1.
The Open Drawing tool is now available in the File menu. You can customize the tool for mouse gestures and keyboard shortcuts. The toolbar button is also available in in the Standard category.
SOLIDWORKS Manage is an advanced data management system that extends the global file management and application integrations enabled by SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional. For more information, see SOLIDWORKS Data Management Release Notes.
Results for von Mises stress are listed inaccurately when obtained in the following way from the List Results PropertyManager: Under Advanced Options, you enable Range and select Element’s nodes, and under List Set, you select List von Mises Stress (VON). To get the correct von Mises results, select Nodes instead of selecting Element’s nodes.
The response graph plot for the resultant reaction force shows inaccurate results when first created. When you edit the same graph plot, the results are shown correctly.
For all dynamic studies except harmonic: When you edit an existing response graph for beam stresses, the Result component list in the PropertyManager is blank for Y-axis. To view results, select the stress component.
SOLIDWORKS CAM is a 2.5 axis CNC programming solution that leverages Rules Based Machining. SOLIDWORKS CAM runs directly inside the SOLIDWORKS part and assembly environment, which allows programmers, designers, and estimators full access to the SOLIDWORKS modeling environment. With the use of Interactive and Automatic Feature Recognition, users can seamlessly capture design intent directly from the model with full associativity to any design changes. Programmers can also obtain tolerances directly from MBD data to automate machining strategies based on varying tolerances within a part. This automation and leverage of existing rules allows users to streamline the programming process and maintain consistency in programs that are sent to shop floor. By leveraging the power of SOLIDWORKS, users can quickly create setup sheets and documentation to clarify the machine or manufacturing process. For product information, click here. Contact your SOLIDWORKS Value Added Reseller for SOLIDWORKS CAM purchase information.
Refer to What's New, available from the Help menu, for descriptions of new functionality.
Localization
The SOLIDWORKS CAM help files are available in French.
SOLIDWORKS Composer products include SOLIDWORKS Composer, Player, and Player Pro, and SOLIDWORKS Composer API.
Updates not yet included in What's New SOLIDWORKS 2018:
In SOLIDWORKS, when you save models as SOLIDWORKS Composer .smg files, you can set Import options in the Systems Options tab.
You can import SOLIDWORKS Bills of Materials (BOMs) from assemblies or multibody parts into SOLIDWORKS Composer.
SOLIDWORKS Composer automatically imports the colors from display state appearances in SOLIDWORKS models.
SOLIDWORKS Composer imports component-level colors and appearances from SOLIDWORKS models. What you see in SOLIDWORKS is imported into SOLIDWORKS Composer.
SOLIDWORKS Composer automatically imports appearances with textures in SOLIDWORKS models.
You can create a reverse animation that brings the flashing effects to the start of the animation sequence. You can include the Translate and Scale motions.
You can sort profiles alphabetically or by category to help you find target profiles.
Built-in sample files allow access to Player Pro functions and features in published HTML output without having a Player Pro license. If you do not have a Player Pro license and open other Composer HTML files, a message reports that you cannot access the advanced features, only the basic features.
A Digger check box is available in the Right Manager tab so you can better control access to confidential model data.
You can use Deferred Update Mode to enhance performance while working on large schematics and related data operations that require database updates.
On the Process tab, in the Deferred update mode section, click Activate. Insert wires and symbols to complete the schematics, and then click Update connections to update the database.
You can use Classifications manager to create custom classes according to company and user specifications and to classify custom and specific items such as user components and cables. You can add new classes and copy and paste existing default classes.
Click Classifications manager on the Library tab or in any other manager opened from the Library tab.
To ensure successful installation and optimum performance, see Prerequisites and System Requirements.
For a comparison of render performance across different NVIDIA graphics cards, see SOLIDWORKS Visualize Benchmarks.
Refer to What's New, available from the Home Screen, for descriptions of new functionality.
Graphics Hardware
SOLIDWORKS Visualize no longer supports NVIDIA Fermi™ cards for GPU acceleration.
Denoiser
With the Denoiser, you can achieve significant reductions in render time for production-quality images.
The Denoiser uses a post-processing technique based on machine learning to filter out noise from unfinished and noisy images produced with Fast and Accurate render modes.
To achieve increased performance from using the Denoiser, you need to reduce the number of render passes. For example, if a scene routinely needs 500 passes without the Denoiser, specifying 50 passes when the Denoiser is on may achieve the same rendering quality. You may be able to achieve the same rendering quality with even fewer passes using the Denoiser depending on your goal for the image. Actual reductions in the number of passes, and therefore, render time, depends on the computer's hardware and the scene rendered.
You need to initialize the Denoiser to make it available for use.
To initialize the Denoiser:
As long as the option is selected, the Denoiser requires a certain amount of video RAM even if it is not currently being used. When you clear the option, the Denoiser is not available and no resources are used by it.
After you initialize the Denoiser, you can turn it on or off for any particular rendering operation. An icon in the upper right of the heads-up display indicates when the Denoiser is on. To prevent a slowdown of the interactivity with the application, the Denoiser is not applied until after the tenth accumulated render pass.
To turn the Denoiser on or off:
You can use the Denoiser for offline renderings and renderings using the Queue.
To use the Denoiser for offline renderings:
In the Render Preview window, an icon in the heads-up display indicates when the Denoiser is on.