- User Interface Redesign
The SOLIDWORKS 2016 user interface is redesigned to provide better support for high-resolution, high-pixel density displays.
- Improved User Interface Scaling for High-Resolution Screens
Icons and buttons scale so that their appearance does not degrade or become blurry when they are displayed on high-resolution and high-pixel density displays.
- New Icon Style with Color Options
SOLIDWORKS 2016 provides a new icon style that improves readability and recognition. The icon style includes crisper lines, removes non-essential details, and emphasizes primary elements. The icons scale without loss of clarity on high-resolution and high-density displays.
- Icons in the FeatureManager Design Tree
- Redesigned Triad
The triad is redesigned to make it easier to control model orientation in 3D, using selection handles and angle rotation.
- Analysis Preparation CommandManager
When the active document is a SOLIDWORKS part, an Analysis Preparation tab is added to the CommandManager when you add in SOLIDWORKS Simulation, SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation, or SOLIDWORKS Plastics.
- Changing Background
You can control the brightness of the background of the SOLIDWORKS user interface.
- Expandable PropertyManager Input Boxes
When a PropertyManager contains an input box that lists selections, the list expands to show all selections. You can also drag the bottom of the list to control its size.
- FeatureManager Design Tree Filter Performance
When you use the FeatureManager design tree filter, the software waits for you to finish typing before it starts to search. This improves the search behavior for large trees such as assemblies that contain thousands of components.
- Hiding and Showing Primary Planes
You can toggle the visibility of the primary (Front, Top, Right) planes in the graphics area.
- Keyboard Input in PropertyManagers
The SOLIDWORKS software now provides better support for keyboard input in PropertyManagers.
- Menu Consolidation
New submenus are in the File, View, and Tools menus so the menus fit more easily on a monitor display.
- Moving the Confirmation Corner Options to the Pointer
You can confirm changes you make in sketches and tools more easily by using the D keyboard shortcut to move the OK and Cancel buttons to the pointer location in the graphics area.
- Persistent Context Toolbar When Sketching
When you add relations to selected entities in a sketch, you can make multiple selections from the sketch context toolbar without having to redisplay the toolbar.
- Selection Breadcrumbs
Selection breadcrumbs are a context-based view of the current selection. They show related elements up and down the hierarchical tree, from the selected entity through the top level assembly or part.
- Toolbar and CommandManager Docking Behavior
The docking behavior of toolbars and the CommandManager has changed to eliminate inadvertent docking and undocking.
- Undo Location on Mate Context Toolbar
When you edit mates, the Undo button 
is always added to the right of the mate context toolbar. This keeps the OK button 
in the same relative position on the toolbar and makes it less likely that you will accidentally undo a change you meant to save.
- Visualization Tool for References
In the FeatureManager design tree, when you hover over a feature, the software displays graphical arrows that communicate the complex relationships between items.