Access to Help
When you access help, a Web version of the documentation is displayed
in a Web-based view. You can choose to view a local help (.chm) file,
for example, if your Internet connection is slow or unavailable.
Web-based help includes these features:
Search.
Identify relevant topics using relevancy ranking, spelling correction,
short descriptions in search result views, and guided navigation.
Topic Navigation.
Navigate using next and previous topic buttons, as well as breadcrumb
trails at the top of help topics.
Feedback.
Provide feedback directly to the documentation team on individual help
topics.
Up-to-Date Documentation.
Access updated Web help, so you never need to download large compiled
help (.chm) files. You do not have to install SolidWorks to access Web
help. In your browser's address bar, enter http://help.solidworks.com
and select a language and
product to view its Web help.
Links to the
Knowledge Base. Automatically find related content from each help
topic in the SolidWorks Knowledge Base (requires SolidWorks Subscription
Service and Customer Portal Login).
To use Web help from within SolidWorks, you must have
Internet Explorer 7 or 8 installed.
To switch between Web help and local help:
To access the currently enabled help:
Click 
on the Standard toolbar or
click Help > SolidWorks
Help to open the welcome page.
Click Help,
click 
, or press F1 in a dialog box or PropertyManager
to access context-sensitive help.
Click the flyout menu of Help options 
in the Menu Bar.
Tips for using Web help:
To select a topic, use the Contents pane.
To perform a search:
Enter a term and click Search.
View search result descriptions to determine the
best match. Beneath
each description is a breadcrumb trail that reflects the topic hierarchy.
Narrow the search results by selecting a category
on the left.
Tips for using local help:
To select a topic, use the Contents
tab.
To perform a search:
Click the Search
tab, enter a term, and click List Topics.
Select a topic and click Display.
Create Boolean searches using "AND,"
"OR," "NOT," and "NEAR."
Select Search
previous results to use only the previously found topics for the
next search. This allows you to narrow down your search by adding keywords.
Select Match
similar words to highlight similar words in the found topics. For
example, if you search for "open," topics with both "open"
and "opening" are found.
Select Search
titles only to find only topics with the keyword in the title.
To access Web help in an independent browser:
In your browser's address bar, type http://help.solidworks.com.
Select a language.
Click a SolidWorks product to see help for the
product.
Supported browsers: