Upgrading to Manage Toolbox Entirely in the Vault

Use this upgrade procedure when you have previously worked with all or some of the Toolbox library outside the vault and you now want to manage the entire Toolbox library in the vault.

Each computer using SOLIDWORKS PDM integration with Toolbox must be upgraded individually; however, the Toolbox folder only needs to be upgraded once, on the first system.

To upgrade Toolbox:

  1. If you have previously managed Toolbox using directories outside the vault, before upgrading, migrate the Toolbox data that is outside the vault into the vault. See Migrating Existing Toolbox Libraries.
  2. In SOLIDWORKS, modify the Toolbox path to point to the Toolbox root folder in the vault:
    1. Click Tools > Options > Hole Wizard/Toolbox .
    2. In the System Options - Hole Wizard/Toolbox dialog box, for Hole Wizard and Toolbox folder, type the new path or browse to the folder and select it.
    3. Click OK.
  3. In Windows Explorer, log in to the vault as a user with full permissions (check out, check in, add, delete).
  4. Right-click the Toolbox folder and click Get Latest Version to copy all Toolbox files and the toolbox database to the local cache.
  5. For upgrades, you must check out the Toolbox database file:
    • From SOLIDWORKS 2014 or earlier, check out: vault_name\Toolbox_folder_name\lang\your_language\SWBrowser.mdb.
    • From later versions of SOLIDWORKS, check out: vault_name\Toolbox_folder_name\lang\your_language\swbrowser.sldedb.
  6. Run the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager to perform the upgrade.
  7. On the Summary screen, ensure that the Toolbox Options installation location is the location in the vault.

    If it is not, click Change, select Reference or upgrade an existing Toolbox, and browse to the Toolbox location in the vault.

  8. For upgrades from SOLIDWORKS 2014 or earlier, when the upgrade completes, in Windows Explorer, browse to the folder noted in step 5 and add the Toolbox database file swbrowser.sldedb to the vault.
    You can add other local files that are created in this folder to the vault.
  9. For all upgrades, check in the Toolbox folder to add any new or updated files to the vault so that other users can work with Toolbox.
  10. Navigate to your Toolbox folder in the vault and ensure that the following are present:
    • \Toolbox_folder_name\Updates
    • \Toolbox_folder_name\ToolboxStandards.xml
    • \Toolbox_folder_name\Browser\ToolboxFiles.index

    If they are not, contact your Value Added Reseller.

  11. Upgrade the rest of the computers that use SOLIDWORKS PDM integration with Toolbox:
    1. In SOLIDWORKS, modify the Toolbox path to point to the Toolbox root folder in the vault.
    2. In Windows Explorer, right-click the Toolbox folder and click Get Latest Version to copy the Toolbox parts to your local cache.
    3. Run the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager to upgrade.