SolidWorks Toolbox

SolidWorks Toolbox is installed with the SolidWorks Office products. The SolidWorks Toolbox library appears in the SolidWorks application on the Task Pane Design Library tab.

After installation, individuals can configure SolidWorks Toolbox on their systems. Protect a shared Toolbox library by setting the folder to read-only.

To configure SolidWorks Toolbox for individuals:

• To specify Design Library folders, click Tools, Options, File Locations and select Design Library under Show folders for.

• For SolidWorks Toolbox contents to appear in the Design Library, click Tools, Add-ins and select SolidWorks Toolbox Browser.

To protect a shared SolidWorks Toolbox library:

• In Windows Explorer, go to the shared folder and make the Browser folder and its subfolders and files read-only.

• In SolidWorks, click Toolbox Browser, Browser Configuration. Under Document Properties, select No copy (always use master part file) and Always change read-only status of document before writing.

Adding a Toolbox Seat

You can add an existing SolidWorks Toolbox user to an existing shared environment.

Users who migrate to the shared environment might have assembly documents that reference local versions of the SolidWorks Toolbox parts. Potential issues include:

• A user's local SolidWorks Toolbox parts might contain part configurations that do not exist in the shared environment.

• A user might have assigned part numbers and descriptions to local SolidWorks Toolbox parts that are different from the shared parts.

To add an existing user to a shared environment:

1. Make sure the existing seats in the shared environment and the seat that is migrating to the shared environment have the same SolidWorks and SolidWorks Toolbox versions.

2. Edit <install_dir>\Toolbox\toolbox.ini of the user installation and update the path of ToolboxPartFolder to the shared SolidWorks Toolbox folder.

The user then opens assembly documents that reference local SolidWorks Toolbox parts and the software looks for the parts. To ensure that the SolidWorks Toolbox parts are loaded from the shared location, the user can either browse for each part or have the SolidWorks software search for external references.

To browse for each part:

1. Rename the local SolidWorks Toolbox parts folder.

2. Open each assembly document, browse to the shared location, and open the SolidWorks Toolbox parts.

To have the software search for external references:

1. Rename the local SolidWorks Toolbox parts folder.

2. In the SolidWorks software, click Options (Standard toolbar) or Tools, Options.

3. Select External References, then select Search file locations for external references.

4. On the System Options tab, select File Locations.

5. Select Referenced Documents in Show folders for, click Add, then browse to the shared location of the SolidWorks Toolbox parts.

6. Open and save each assembly document that used local referenced parts.

7. Clear the Search file locations for external references option and delete the local SolidWorks Toolbox parts folder after you have updated all assembly documents.

Multi-user Toolbox from Standalone

To create a multi-user environment from existing standalone installations:

1. Identify the computer that has used SolidWorks Toolbox most extensively.

2. Move the entire SolidWorks Toolbox parts directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Common Files\SolidWorks Data) from the user's computer to a shared location.

It is recommended that the shared location be on a computer that does not run the SolidWorks software. The location is typically a server.

3. Continue with Adding a Toolbox Seat (above).