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 by 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. Access to the knowledge base requires SOLIDWORKS Subscription Service and Customer Portal Login.
SOLIDWORKS Forum Web help automatically searches for keywords from the title of the open topic in the SOLIDWORKS Forum and displays the results in the bottom pane. In the navigation bar, you can refine the search, enter a new search, and view discussions, blog posts, polls, documents, and ideas.

Click Start a Discussion at the bottom of the pane to post in the SOLIDWORKS Forum.

To access the help:

Do one of the following:
  • Click (Standard toolbar) or click Help > 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.
To switch between Web help and local help, select or clear Help > Use Web Help

Tips for Using Help

Task Web Help Local (.chm) help
To select a topic: Use the Contents pane Use the Contents tab
To perform a search:

Enter a term and click Search.

View search result descriptions to determine the best match. Under each description is a breadcrumb trail that reflects the topic hierarchy.

Narrow the search results by selecting a category on the left.

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.