The Task Pane lets you view file variables and perform commands from a shortcut menu.
To view a hierarchical display of the selected SOLIDWORKS PDM file:
Click the SOLIDWORKS PDM 
icon on the Task Pane.
You can determine where the SOLIDWORKS PDM tab appears and configure the appearance of the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree and Preview Area. See SOLIDWORKS PDM Add-in Options.
To rearrange columns:
Drag a column header to a new location. File / Variable must be the first column.
Variables
The file list and the preview pane contain information variables.
The following information appears by default. You can customize whether a variable appears, where it appears, and the label for column headings by clicking .
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Variable |
Default location |
Description |
|---|
 |
Version Number |
File list (Version Number) Preview pane (Local Version)
|
Version numbers for a file. In the version numbers 3/3, the first number indicates the version you are viewing and the second is the number of versions in the vault.
|
 |
Local revision |
Preview pane |
The revision level assigned to the local version, for example, B. In the file list, the revision number appears in the File/Variable column.
|
 |
Checked out by |
File list Preview pane
|
Displays the name of the user who has checked out the file. |
 |
Checked out in |
Preview pane |
Gives the location of the file that is checked out. |
 |
Workflow state |
File list Preview pane
|
Shows the current state of the file as defined in the workflow. |
 |
Child Quick Info |
File list |
Indicates the status of the in-session SOLIDWORKS file and its references. |
 |
Reference version |
File list |
Shows the version of a file that is referenced by an assembly compared to the latest version of the same file in the database |
 |
Configuration |
Preview pane |
The SOLIDWORKS-defined configuration. In the file list, the configuration name appears in the File/Variable column.
|
 |
Variables |
File list Preview pane
|
One or more custom variables that are set up with the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration tool. By default, the Description variable appears in the file list and preview pane.
|
Quick Info Icons
Child Quick Information warnings in the SOLIDWORKS PDM Add-in indicate the status of the in-session SOLIDWORKS file and its references. These icons appear at the assembly level, so that you can see status warnings for all lower level files in an assembly and its subassemblies without having to fully expand the assembly tree.
By default, Quick Info icons appear next to the file in the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree and in the Child Quick Info column.
You can turn off individual warning icons and background colors that appear in the SOLIDWORKS PDM Task Pane.
To turn off the warning icons and background colors in the SOLIDWORKS PDM Task Pane:
- In the SOLIDWORKS software, click .
- Clear the check boxes next to each status for the warning icons and its background colors to suppress.
 |
Checked in by another user in this session. |
 |
The local file is the same as the vault version. |
 |
The local file is older than the vault version. |
 |
The local file is edited but not saved. |
 |
The local file is newer than the vault version. |
 |
The local file not in the vault. |
 |
The file version that is referenced by the parent file is not the latest version. |
You cannot change width of the Icon column.
Shortcut Menu
Right-click a file in the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree to access the menu.
You can also access many of the commands by right-clicking in the FeatureManager design tree.
| Select All |
|
| Refresh Tree |
Refreshes the information displayed in the tree, including status of files checked out or checked in by other users since the last refresh. |
| Collapse All |
Collapses the view of the variables for all components of the currently selected file. |
| Expand All |
Expands the view of the variables for all components of the currently selected file. |
| Properties |
Displays the file's SOLIDWORKS PDM file data card. |
| Get Latest Version |
Retrieves the latest version of the file from the archive. |
| Get |
Lets you select a version from the list to retrieve it from the archive server. |
| Check Out |
Checks out the file for editing. |
| Check In |
Opens the Check In dialog box so that you can check in the file with your changes. You can choose whether to keep the file open in SOLIDWORKS or close the file.
|
| Undo Check Out |
Cancels a check out without saving changes. |
| Zoom to Selection |
SOLIDWORKS command. Zooms to the selected part or subassembly. |
| Open |
SOLIDWORKS command. Opens the selected part. |
| Edit |
SOLIDWORKS command. Lets you edit the selected part. |
Preview Area
A preview area at the bottom of the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree displays a thumbnail image and information and variables that are selected for display on the View Settings tab of the SOLIDWORKS PDM Options dialog box.
Drag the top bar to change the size of the preview image.