Appendix A

Finding Help

SolidWorks software has been around for more than 15 years now. In that time, the resources available to users seeking help have increased dramatically. These resources take many forms, from personal Web sites with information from individual experience to commercial online magazines or forums with advanced interfaces. In this appendix, I have assembled some of the more worthy sources of quality information.

It is not the goal of this book to endorse any commercial sites or services, but some of the listed resources are commercial in nature, and may feature advertisements, logins, or paid subscriptions.

SolidWorks Help

The SolidWorks Help file contains some information you need to research how functions work. There are topics for which searchability is poor, or that do not appear under expected names, but this is the exception rather than the norm. It is more common to find that some features are poorly documented or not documented at all. For example, when you look up the significance of the Engage Belt option in the Belt/Chain sketch function described in Chapter 3, SolidWorks Help says, “Engage belt. Clear to disengage the belt mechanism,” which may not be the help you are looking for.

However, some functions, such as sheet metal bend allowances and the referenced documents search routine, are extraordinarily well documented. Isolated topics are surprisingly thorough and extremely helpful.

SolidWorks Help is available in traditional Help files on the computer, as well as Web-based help. SolidWorks Web Help was created because it is easier for SolidWorks to keep it up to date. You can access the Web Help by turning on the Use SolidWorks Web Help option in the Help menu in SolidWorks or at http://help.solidworks.com.

SolidWorks Web Help

The SolidWorks Web Help was new in SolidWorks 2010. Web Help was introduced to help SolidWorks keep the Help files updated without having to send out help updates in the service packs. It also enables the use of other search tools and links to online data sources to make finding help that much easier.

You can access SolidWorks Web Help through the Help SolidWorks Help menu selection as usual, but you need to make sure that the Use SolidWorks Web Help option also in the Help menu is activated. The following three sections only pertain to the traditional (non-Web) Help.

Contents

SolidWorks terminology has been a sticking point at times in the writing of this book because terms are either unclear or overlap. Still, it is difficult for two people to talk about the software if they are not using the same terminology. The Glossary, found at the bottom of the Help Contents list, is one of the most useful and yet most underused portions of the Help files. Often when a new user asks me a question, it can be impossible to discern what the user is talking about because he is not familiar with the SolidWorks terminology, is substituting AutoCAD or Inventor terminology, or is assuming all modeling terminology is universal. As dull as it may be, this Glossary should be required reading for all new users. Simply understanding the language being used by the training materials, Help files, and other users can give you a big head start when it comes to learning the software. Look through it. I promise you'll learn something useful.

Index

Starting in SolidWorks 2010, SolidWorks removed the Index from the regular Help, and of course, it does not exist in the Web Help either. An index is difficult to create, and this difficulty was the reason SolidWorks gave for not including it in the new version.

Search

The Search function is for when you are not exactly sure of what you are looking for. For example, you know there is a feature that has a funny name that uses stripes to analyze curvature across edges, but you cannot remember its name. Begin your search with the words stripes and curvature. If you use curvature, the Search function returns about 60 possibilities. The term you are looking for is Zebra Stripes, but you may not find it by scanning such a long list. If you search using the word stripe, Zebra Stripes appears at the top of the list. So a good search strategy might be to try multiple terms.

The biggest complaint you may have about the Search function in Help is that it will sometimes return too many options, and the connection between the word you searched on and the topic title shown in the list is not immediately clear. Still, too much information is better than not enough.

Many users overlook the three options at the bottom of the Search window: Search Previous Results, Match Similar Words, and Search Titles Only. All three are useful in narrowing your search. With the new Web Help, Search is improved, and includes a section that allows you to further narrow the search results that works like guided search. Guided search provides a list of results, but also provides an index-like set of topics (in the upper right-hand corner) that you can use to narrow the search further.

Additionally, most of the Help linked to from the search results has a link to search the Knowledge Base on a related phrase. This search of the Knowledge Base (KB) may or may not include any results. I have seen several links from the Help to the KB that were empty.

SolidWorks Web Site

Most of the valuable information on the SolidWorks Web site (www.solidworks.com) is behind the subscription login, but some free information is also available. It may be worthwhile to explore the SolidWorks site a bit, because it includes a large amount of information ranging from graphics cards evaluations to training files.

Graphics Cards Link

The link to this area of the SolidWorks Web site is www.solidworks.com/sw/videocardtesting.html, and appears on the SolidWorks Web site main page behind the Support System Requirements link. SolidWorks has tested the range of most popular graphics cards and drivers for compatibility with various versions of SolidWorks and has rated them at various levels based on the following criteria:

Passed all tests

Passed with limitations

Card has significant stability or repaint problems

Uses the graphics card display settings for SolidWorks

Multi-head hardware accelerated

Supports RealView

Provides 64-bit native support

Supports 3D-Stereo effects

Customer Portal

The SolidWorks Customer Portal is full of useful information. It requires a login, and you can find it at https://customercenter.solidworks.com. Portions of the portal, such as the Forums, are available to anyone with or without subscription. Other areas, such as the service pack downloads, are only available to subscription customers.

SolidWorks Forums

The SolidWorks Forums have areas of wide interest for most users. These include about 40 different topic areas, each with a constant flow of information. SolidWorks employees sometimes answer questions, and knowledgeable users often give good answers and invaluable perspectives on not just modeling and CAD admin topics but also general mechanical engineering or materials sourcing.

You can read the forums without an account but need an account to post messages. Accounts can be granted to anyone even if you are not on maintenance. You can find the forums at http://forum.solidworks.com.

Make sure to read the Terms of Use available at the bottom of every Forum page. The moderators do not usually apply the rules strictly, but I have seen posts removed that should have been allowed and posts allowed that should have been removed. Generally if you ask, answer, or comment in good faith, you will not have any problems.

Knowledge Base

If you think you have used the Knowledge Base before and found it less than satisfying, you owe it to yourself to try it again. The KB is constantly updated with new information, which comes from several sources, including general technical support results and the Help documentation. Searches actually turn up a lot of useful information. Results may include tech support responses to customer issues, SPRs (software performance reports — also known as bug reports), white papers, articles, and so on. In addition, you can look up SPR numbers you have received from tech support to check the reports' statuses. I have consulted the Knowledge Base several times while writing this book. It has been built from vast amounts of internal SolidWorks corporate support documentation, as well as the support database. I give it very high usability marks!

Software downloads

Manually downloading and installing software and upgrades for SolidWorks is becoming outdated, although you can still do it. The SolidWorks Installation Manager works much like Microsoft Automatic Update. It downloads and even installs updates for you automatically. There is also a new Background Downloader that will download service packs while your internet connection is otherwise idle, to be available to you when you want to use it. You can also work with automated administrative image installations. I particularly like that it can download service packs before the links on the SolidWorks Web site are active. Of course, if you need or simply want to download them manually, this option is also available.

If you are still relying on DVDs to install software, you might consider using the SolidWorks Installation Manager (SWIM) to download not only service packs but also entire installation files for the software. You need adequate network bandwidth, as the downloads may take up several gigabytes. Still, this option is useful and convenient, and most importantly, it works much more reliably than it has in the past.

Release Notes

All the Release Notes for all the service packs of the current version are also available from the main Customer Portal window. This is essential information for CAD administrators. Technical Alerts, changes to the System Requirements (www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html), and new installation details are listed here.

Even if you think you do not need to know any of this information, it still makes for interesting (and at times alarming) reading. The Technical Alerts typically warn of severe bugs or other problems and how to work around or fix them.

What's New

What's New is a great document to refer to when you are learning a new version of SolidWorks. For the SolidWorks 2010 version, the What's New document comes in HTML and PDF formats. I find the PDF to be easier to access and read, but possibly less up to date than the HTML version. What's New is an important document to read before considering installing a new version, or if you have skipped versions. If you are looking for a What's New document from a version that you do not have installed, you can find all of the What's New documents on Ricky Jordan's blog (www.rickyjordan.com/whats-new-guides).

Installation and administration guides

Installation and administration guides are available for SolidWorks, eDrawings, and SolidWorks Simulation. They contain the basics about the topics and are not as detailed as other sources of information. For a complete installation and administration guide, please refer to the SolidWorks Administration Bible (Wiley, 2009).

PDMWorks Workgroup Vault Debug Guide

When the vault gives you an error code, you don't have to call tech support to find out what is going on. It is all listed in the PDMWorks Workgroup Vault Debug Guide. All the error codes appear with the name of the error. This is a must-have document for the PDMWorks administrator.

FLEXlm End Users Guide

The FLEXlm End Users Guide is required reading for a network license administrator. While the network license is easy to install, set up, and maintain, this guide explains many of the details and options that are available.

User Groups

The main SolidWorks site for user groups is www.swugn.org. There are too many individual user groups to keep track of or list here, but you can find a user group in your area on the SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) site. You can also find user group information on the SolidWorks Forums.

Online Forums

There are many types of online forums for SolidWorks. I have already discussed the forum on the SolidWorks Web site. Other forums are not directly sponsored by SolidWorks Corporation, and they may vary in quality.

Blogs

Blogs for SolidWorks and related topics cover everything from opinion-based essays to speculation about future products, tips, and tricks or CAD industry news. Most are written by SolidWorks users rather than journalists, so you'll get specifics about a tool that you actually use.

I write a blog, which you can find at http://dezignstuff.com/blog. It covers advanced SolidWorks subjects such as surfacing, as well as consumer advocate type of articles, including information on enhancement request drives and subscription options. I also provide links to many other SolidWorks-related blogs, forums, and Web sites.

My blog has updates to books, notices of new books, lists of errors found in books, and a lot of other content. I deal with philosophical and ethical questions related to product design and CAD in general. I post advanced tips, and sometimes excerpts from books. I also post questions for readers and polls where readers can express their opinions; and I'm always looking for opinions as long as you can back up what you have to say.

Some SolidWorks blogs to check out include:

Matt Lombard at www.dezignstuff.com/blog

Ricky Jordan at www.rickyjordan.com

Rob Rodriguez – Rendering in SolidWorks at www.robrodriguezblog.com

Gabi Jack – Learning SolidWorks from the point of view of a student http://gabijack.com/

Jeff Cope – API at http://extensiblecad.com/words/

Lenny Kikstra – API at http://designsmarter.typepad.com/lennyworks/

Josh Mings at www.solidsmack.com

Matt Lorono at www.fcsuper.com/swblog/

Many other blogs exist, including very good general CAD or other non-SolidWorks topics, and you should be able to find most of them from the links on my blog and the others listed here. These blogs do not all fit the same mold. Some are highly optimistic; others focus on tech gadgets, social networking, tech tips, or CAD news; some simply parrot press releases; and so on. For the best list of other CAD, design, 3D, rendering, and engineering blogs, view the blog roll in the right column of my blog.

Forums

Some forums are commercial, which means they are likely to contain advertising. These forums include:

• https://forums.solidworks.com. This is SolidWorks' site with official forums. The forums are very active in a wide range of topics and lightly moderated. This requires a login but does not require current SolidWorks subscription.
• www.productdesignhub.com. This site is aimed at both industrial and product designers. It has an active forum for sharing ideas as well as a lot of great articles, videos, and other useful content.
• www.core77.com. This is probably the premier industrial design Web site available.
• www.mcadforums.com. This site has a lot of traffic and content, but also uses Flash advertisements.
• www.eng-tips.com. This forum receives plenty of traffic, has a sign-in popup, and is highly censored.
• www.3dcadtips.com. This site is run by the owners of the Design World magazine, and has a lot of information on general engineering topics as well as CAD.

Non-Commercial Web Sites

The sites listed here are run by individuals, lack advertising, and contain information created by the owner of the site. They are my favorite types of places to find information. Even though most of these folks are not professional HTML coders, the information is useful and presented well.

• Rob Rodriguez (www.robrodriguez.com) features rendering topics. Rob used to host the PhotoWorks rendering contest, but that has moved to http://rendercontest.com/.
• Paul Salvador (www.zxys.com) has some nice models and images.
• Edgar Gidoni (www.ragde3d.com) is a prolific creator of beautiful SolidWorks models, and he writes nice step-by-step tutorials, many of which are free.
• Stefan Berlitz (http://solidworks.cad.de) is the unofficial German SolidWorks site. If you read German, this site is loaded with great information. Although it does contain some advertisements, I still consider it a non-commercial site.
• Scott Baugh (www.scottjbaugh.com) has several sample models and a section on tips.
• Mike Wilson (www.mikejwilson.com) has some amazing things posted to his site that he has done with SolidWorks. They are great models from which to learn. The site has not been updated for some time, but the models and techniques shown are fascinating.