Sketches can be in any of five states described below. The state of the sketch is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the SOLIDWORKS window.
Individual sketch entities (as opposed to entire sketches) also have sketch statuses.
| Fully Defined |
All the lines and curves in the sketch, and their positions, are described by dimensions or relations, or both. |
| Over Defined |
Some dimensions or relations, or both, are either in conflict or are redundant. To view and remove conflicting relations, see Display/Delete Relations PropertyManager. |
| Under Defined |
Some of the dimensions or relations in the sketch are not defined and are free to change. You can drag endpoints, lines, or curves until the sketch entity changes shape. |
| No Solution Found |
The sketch is not solved. The geometry, relations, and dimensions that prevent the solution of the sketch are displayed. |
| Invalid Solution Found |
The sketch is solved but results in invalid geometry, such as a zero length line, zero radius arc, or self-intersecting spline. |
With the SOLIDWORKS software, it is not necessary to fully dimension or define sketches before you use them to create features. However, you should fully define sketches before you consider the part complete.
To always use fully defined sketches to create features, click , and select Use fully defined sketches.