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Upgrading SolidWorks Files

The SolidWorks Enterprise PDM File Version Upgrade tool upgrades SolidWorks files from an earlier version to a later SolidWorks file format.
After you upgrade files, you cannot open them in older SolidWorks versions.

The tool automatically checks out, upgrades, and checks in SolidWorks files that are stored in Enterprise PDM vaults. File references, revision tags, and workflow states are kept intact.

The only file formats that are upgraded are .sldprt, .slddrw, and .sldasm. Upgrade SolidWorks template and block files manually.

Several workstations, each running the upgrade tool, can perform concurrent upgrades to reduce the upgrade time. The first workstation to run the upgrade tool acts as the master workstation, which creates the upgrade plan. The plan consists of several work instruction files, one for each workstation participating in the upgrade process. For instructions on creating work instruction files, see Creating and Using Work Instruction Files.



The work instruction files contain tree structures that reflect the parent-child relationships of the SolidWorks files. Both master and slave workstations can run additional work instruction files after they finish processing the first one. Although parts and subassemblies can be shared by other assemblies, each file is only upgraded once.

If an assembly references parts that are not at the latest version, you can choose a version setting that links the assembly with the latest version of the parts it references. Alternatively, you can choose a version setting that overwrites the existing version of referenced files with the latest version of the files. See Selecting Version Settings.

Contents

  • Required Upgrade Utility Software

    Use a version of the upgrade software that corresponds to the version of SolidWorks to which you are upgrading.

  • System Requirements

    System requirements depend on the vault database being upgraded. They are affected by the structure of the database, including the number of files, versions, and references being converted.

  • Installing the File Version Upgrade Utility

    The File Version Upgrade Utility is provided on the SolidWorks Enterprise PDM installation media in the \Support\File Version Upgrade\ directory.

  • Preparing to Upgrade

    Prepare the workstations involved in the upgrade before you begin the upgrade process.

  • Selecting Version Settings

    The Version Settings screen lets you specify which versions and revisions of your selected file type will be upgraded and whether old versions will be overwritten.

  • Performing a Trial File Upgrade

    Before upgrading the SolidWorks files in a production vault, perform the upgrade on a copy of the production vault to ensure that there are no upgrade problems.

  • Running the Upgrade Utility

  • Creating and Using Work Instruction Files

    By creating work instruction files, you can run the upgrade tool concurrently on several workstations to reduce the upgrade time.

  • Completing an Interrupted Upgrade

    Sometimes an upgrade is interrupted unexpectedly, for example, when you lose a network connection or lose power.

  • After Upgrading

  • Managing Backup Files

    If you choose to overwrite existing versions of files when you upgrade, the upgrade tool creates a backup file for each overwritten file.



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