Welcome

This online reference guide documents the SolidWorks Application Programming Interface (API), which you can use to automate and customize the SolidWorks software.

The API contains hundreds of functions that you can call from Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), VB.NET, Visual C#, Visual C++ 6.0 , and Visual C++/CLI. These functions provide direct access to SolidWorks functionality such as creating a line, inserting an existing part into a part document, or verifying the parameters of a surface.

API Help is available on the Web or locally. To enable your desired access to API Help, select Help > Use SolidWorks Web Help. A check mark indicates that API Help is enabled on the Web.

You can find all of the SolidWorks primary interop assemblies (PIAs) in the install_directory> folder. You can find the PIAs that you can redistribute with your application in the install_directory>\api\redist folder.

Every supported interface available in the SolidWorks API, including its associated properties and methods, is documented; undocumented SolidWorks API interfaces and functions are not supported and should not be used. Obsolete APIs are not supported. SolidWorks recommends that you use the most current version of the API.

Use of the SolidWorks API assumes that you are familiar with VBA, VB.NET, Visual C#, Visual C++ 6.0, or Visual C++/CLI.

Search 'Welcome' in the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base.

Provide feedback on this topic

SOLIDWORKS welcomes your feedback concerning the presentation, accuracy, and thoroughness of the documentation. Use the form below to send your comments and suggestions about this topic directly to our documentation team. The documentation team cannot answer technical support questions. Click here for information about technical support.

* Required


*Email:
Subject:		Feedback on Help Topics
Page:		Welcome
*Comment:
*		I acknowledge I have read and I hereby accept the privacy policy under which my Personal Data will be used by Dassault Systèmes

Cancel

Print Topic

Select the scope of content to print:

This topic and all topics linked from this topic
Just this topic
This topic and only immediate topics under it
This selected topic and all subtopics

Cancel

We have detected you are using a browser version older than Internet Explorer 7. For optimized display, we suggest upgrading your browser to Internet Explorer 7 or newer.

Never show this message again

Web Help Content Version: API Help (English only) 2012 SP05

To disable Web help from within SOLIDWORKS and use local help instead, click Help > Use SOLIDWORKS Web Help.

To report problems encountered with the Web help interface and search, contact your local support representative. To provide feedback on individual help topics, use the “Feedback on this topic” link on the individual topic page.