SolidWorks Explorer Overview
SolidWorks Explorer 
is a file management tool designed
to help you perform such tasks as renaming, replacing, and copying SolidWorks
files. You can show a document’s references, search for documents using
a variety of criteria, and list all the places where a document is used.
Renamed files are still available to those documents that reference them.
You can use SolidWorks Explorer with or without the SolidWorks application
and with or without SolidWorks Workgroup PDM added in.
SolidWorks Explorer is not
a PDM (Product Data Management) tool; however, it does perform many useful
tasks and simplifies many file management processes. You can add in The
SolidWorks Workgroup PDM Contributor application to run as a standalone
application inside SolidWorks Explorer.
To activate the SolidWorks Explorer:
From within the SolidWorks application, click
Tools, SolidWorks
Explorer.
From the Windows Start menu, click All
Programs, SolidWorks <version>, SolidWorks
Explorer <version>.
Create a shortcut by dragging the SolidWorks
Explorer icon to your desktop.
Collapsed View
The first time you open SolidWorks Explorer, it appears in its collapsed
view, with only the SolidWorks Search box visible:
In the collapsed view, you can:
Search
for text strings and tags in all indexed documents, including SolidWorks
and Microsoft Office documents.
Click Expand
to show the File Explorer
pane.
Right-click near the outer edge and select Close or Minimize.
Leave the collapsed view open on your desktop.
It becomes transparent while you use other applications.
Insert tags
in documents to use as search criteria.
File Explorer
When you perform a search or click Expand
, the view expands to show the File
Explorer pane, which has two tabs:
File Explorer
. Displays the folders and documents on your computer.
If SolidWorks
Workgroup PDM Contributor is added in, the vault view appears
at the bottom of the pane.
Results
. Displays results of searches.
Expanded View
When you select an item in the File
Explorer pane, the fully expanded view of SolidWorks Explorer appears.
In the right pane, a graphical preview of the selected folder or document
is displayed. A
control in the upper right corner lets you view or suppress the graphic.
|
|
To suppress the preview graphic, click the left
side of the control. To redisplay the graphic, click the right side
of the control. |
Depending on the type of item selected, different tabs appear in the
expanded view, where you can perform data management tasks. Each tab can
contain several columns of information. Tabs include:
|
|
Info.
Lists information about the selected item. |
|
|
Files
(for folders only). Lists the contents of the folder and provides previews. |
|
|
Properties.
Lets you add or change custom properties for a SolidWorks document. |
|
|
References.
Lists the references of any part, assembly, or drawing document. |
|
|
Where
Used. Lists all the places where a specified part or assembly
is used. |
|
|
Configurations.
Lets you rename or delete a selected configuration in a part or assembly
document, and updates its references. |
|
|
Hyperlinks.
Lets you list and edit hyperlinks in the selected document. |
|
|
View.
Displays an eDrawings image of the selected part, assembly, or drawing
document. |
When you select a document, a mini toolbar helps you perform additional
tasks.
SolidWorks Explorer updates references to and from the document appropriately.
|
|
Pack
and Go. Gathers all related files for a model design (parts,
assemblies, drawings, references, design tables, Design Binder content,
custom and default decals, appearances, and scenes, and SolidWorks Simulation
results) into a folder or zip file. |
|
|
Rename.
Renames one or more selected documents and updates all the references. |
|
|
Replace.
Replaces a selected part or assembly document and updates its references. |