Creating a Design
Table as a Separate Excel File
You can create a design table as a separate Excel file, then use the
Design Table PropertyManager to
insert the file in your model.
NOTES:
When you
use design tables in the SolidWorks software, it is important to format
the tables properly.
If you
copy and paste the contents of a design table to a new worksheet in Microsoft
Excel, follow the instructions below.
To create a design table as
a separate Excel file:
Open Microsoft Excel and create a worksheet.
-
In the first column
(cells A2, A3, and so on), type the names of the configurations
that you want to create. Leave cell A1
blank.
The names can include numerics,
but must not include the forward slash (/) or at
(@) characters.
In the first row,
(cells B1, C1, and so on), type the parameters
that you want to control.
Column headers are not
case sensitive.
Type the parameter values in the spreadsheet cells.
Save the worksheet.
Open the model document where you want to insert
the design table.
Click Insert,
Design Table.
In the Design
Table PropertyManager, under Source:
Click From
file.
-
Click Browse and open
the Excel file. You can also select Link
to file, which links the table to the model. A linked design table
reads all of its information from an external Excel file. When a design
table is linked, any changes you make to the table outside of SolidWorks
are reflected in the table within the SolidWorks model, and vice versa.
The path to the Excel file appears above the Browse
button.
If you update
a linked design table in Microsoft Excel, then open the SolidWorks model,
you can choose to update either:
- or -
You can set the update options
in Tools, Options,
System Options, External References.
Set Update out-of-date linked design
tables to to Prompt, Model,
or Excel File.
-
Click OK .
The worksheet appears in the model document, and the Excel menus
and toolbars replace the SolidWorks menus and toolbars.
-
Edit the design table if necessary. When you finish editing, click
anywhere outside the table to close it.
A message indicates the names of any new configurations that were
generated by the design table, and the SolidWorks menus and toolbars reappear.
Design Table appears in the ConfigurationManager . Double-click the configuration name, or right-click
the configuration name and select Show
Configuration.