General System Options
Specify general system options such as enabling the performance feedback
option, the Confirmation Corner, etc.
To set general system options:
Click Options 
or
Tools, Options.
Select
from the options described below, then click OK.
Reset All returns
all
system options, not only those on the active page, to the system defaults.
Open last used document(s) at startup.
Select Always or Never.
Select Always if you want the
documents that you used most recently to open when you start the SolidWorks
software.
Input dimension value. The Modify
dialog box appears when you insert a dimension. Otherwise, you
must double-click the dimension to change the value.
Single command per pick. Sketch
and dimension tools clear after each use. (Double-clicking a tool causes
it to remain selected for additional use.)
Show errors every rebuild. If cleared, error messages appear only
once.
Warn
before saving documents with update errors. The warning gives you
the opportunity to fix errors before saving the document.
Maximize document on open. Opens
each document to its largest size within the SolidWorks window.
Use shaded face highlighting. Displays selected faces in a solid
color (green by default). To specify a different highlight color, click
Tools, Options, System Options,
Colors,
then select a different color for Selected
Face, Shaded.
Some third-party applications
may require that you clear this option.
Show thumbnail graphics in Windows
Explorer. Displays a thumbnail
graphic instead of an icon in Windows Explorer for each SolidWorks part
or assembly document. The graphic is displayed in an isometric view, zoomed
to fit, with a white background. A palette of 16 colors is used; if the
model uses a color that is not available, a similar color is substituted.
The thumbnail graphics are also used in the Open
and Save As dialog boxes.
If you do not see thumbnail
graphics in the Open or Save As
dialog boxes, you may have to open, then save your documents. When you
re-open these dialog boxes, you will see the thumbnail graphics.
Use system separator for dimensions.
The default system decimal separator is used when displaying decimal numbers.
To set the system default, use the Windows Control Panel.
To set a decimal separator different from the
system default, clear the option and type a symbol (usually a period or
a comma).
Use English language menus.
Available if you specified another language during installation and the
regional options in the Windows Control
Panel are set to that language.
You must exit and re-start
SolidWorks for this change to take place.
Use
English language feature and file names. Displays feature names
in the FeatureManager design tree and automatically created file names
in English. Existing feature and file names in a foreign language do not
update when you select this option.
This option is available
when Use English language menus
is cleared, you are running the SolidWorks software on a foreign language
operating system, and you installed SolidWorks for that foreign language.
Enable Confirmation Corner.
Displays the Confirmation
Corner in the upper right corner of the graphics area.
Auto-show
PropertyManager. The PropertyManager appears when you select existing
sketch entities, dimensions, and annotations in the graphics area. If
the option is cleared and you select an item, you must select the PropertyManager
tab 
manually to access it.
The PropertyManager always appears when you initiate a command
that uses the PropertyManager for its definition.
Auto-size
PropertyManager when panels are split. Resizes the PropertyManager
when you split the graphics area into panels.
Automatically
edit macro after recording. The macro editor opens after you have
recorded and saved a macro.
Stop
VSTA debugger on macro exit. Stops the VSTA macro debugger as soon
as a macro exits. When cleared, leaves the debugger running so that you
can continue to debug the UI or event created by the macro. For example,
if a macro displays a form and exits, the form disappears as soon as the
macro ends. Clear this option so that the debugger continues to run and
the form is available for you to test.
Enable FeatureXpert. FeatureXpert
automatically fixes parts so they rebuild successfully.
When rebuild error occurs. Select Stop, Continue,
or Prompt to control the action
at the first error during a rebuild.
Stop the rebuild to fix the model before continuing. In the FeatureManager
design tree, hover the pointer over a feature with an error to see the
explanation.
Custom
property used as component description. Set or type a name to define
a custom description
label. For example, the Open
dialog box has a Description label
that displays the model description. Instead of displaying the Description
label, you can display a label that you specify.
If you change the Custom
property used as component description in a document that has already
been saved, you must manually add the new description to the Summary Information
dialog box.
Show
latest news feeds in task pane. Allows regular updates to be made
to the items under Latest News
on the SolidWorks Resources tab
of the Task Pane.
Enable
performance feedback. Performance information is sent to SolidWorks
Corporation to help improve the product. The process is transparent and
reports only system and command usage information for quality and usage
evaluation. All information is confidential. For more information on the
Customer Experience Feedback Program, see www.solidworks.com/pages/services/CustomerExperienceFeedbackProgram.html.
Disable
additional weldment configuration description strings. Removes
the As Welded and As
Machined configuration descriptions when you insert a weldment
feature into a new part.