Opening and Displaying Documents using Browsers

You can select a document to activate or load either by name or visual preview.

To visually select a document from recently viewed documents:

1. Click File, Browse Recent Documents or press R.

2. In the Recent Documents browser, to display the full path to the document, move the pointer over the preview or press Tab.

3. To open the document, click the preview.

4. To close the browser, click outside it or press Esc.

Pressing and releasing  Ctrl opens the highlighted document and closes the browser.

To visually select a document from open documents using shortcut keys:

1. Press Ctrl + Tab.

Keep the Ctrl key pressed to keep the browser open.

1. In the Open Documents browser, to highlight a document and display its full path, press Tab.

2. To display the selected document in the graphics area and close the browser, release the Ctrl key.

To visually select a document from open documents using the Windows menu:

1. Click Window, Browse Open Document.

2. In the Open Documents browser, to highlight a document and display its full path, move the pointer over the document.

3. To display the document in the graphics area, click the preview.

4. To close the browser, click outside it or press Esc.

Document Previews

Previews of SolidWorks documents are provided when you mouse over a document name in the:

• File menu – recent documents list

• Windows menu – open documents list

• File Explorer task pane

Each preview contains a graphical representation of the document and its path. In addition, previews in the File Explorer specify the date the document was last modified and its size.