Creating a Tab

Create templates for entering custom properties for parts, assemblies, and drawings.

1. From the Windows Start menu, click All Programs > SolidWorks version > SolidWorks Tools > Property Tab Builder .

   Property Tab Builder opens. The center pane contains the template you are creating for the tab. The pane on the right is ready to accept page-level attributes.

   In the center pane, a gold border surrounds the active element, and attributes for that element appear in the right pane. When you first open Property Tab Builder, the focus is on the overall page level.

2. In the right pane, set page-level attributes, including the type of template you are creating (Part, Assembly, or Drawing).
3. In the center pane, click inside the group box to select it.

   The gold border indicates that the group box is selected. The pane on the right is ready to accept attributes for the group box.

4. In the right pane, set attributes for the group box.
5. Drag other elements from the palette on the left, and set attributes for those elements in the pane on the right.
   You can:
   

   • Place multiple group boxes at the page level. You cannot place group boxes inside other group boxes.
   • Place all other elements only inside group boxes.
   • Drag elements to reposition them within a group box or to move them into a different group box.
   • Delete elements by right-clicking them and selecting Delete.

6. When you are done editing the template, click Save .
7. In the dialog box:
   1. For File name, type a name.
   2. For Save in, browse to the location where you store your properties.txt file.
      To find the location of your existing properties.txt file, in SolidWorks, click Options > File Locations . Select Custom Properties Files in Show folders for. The path appears under Folders.
      To share the customized tab, store it on a network drive that is accessible by all SolidWorks users on the design team. Then have the users set their file location for Custom Properties Files to that location.

   The template is saved. You can close Property Tab Builder or click New to create another template. In SolidWorks, the next time you select the Custom Properties tab in the Task Pane, the template appears for the type of document that is active.

   If a tab does not yet exist for the active document type, you can click Create now on the Custom Properties tab to open the Property Tab Builder and create one.