Updating File References

The SOLIDWORKS PDM Update References command opens the Update References wizard, which displays the references in a file and lets you modify them without opening the parent file in SOLIDWORKS.

Because Pro/ENGINEER files do not store paths to references, the Update References command cannot be used to update Pro/ENGINEER references.

While you can update any file reference, a major use of the Update References wizard is to repair broken file references.

  • The Find Files option helps you locate other instances of missing files in the vault and redirect the file paths to point to them.

    You can search for multiple files. You can only search the vault and you must replace each reference with a file with the same name.

  • The Replace File option lets you replace a broken reference with a pointer to another file that is in the vault or to a file that is outside the vault.

    You can only replace one file reference at a time. You can search the vault or outside the vault, and you can replace a reference with a file with a different name.

  • If you replace a reference by pointing to a file that is outside the vault, the Add Files to Vault option lets you specify where to add the file within the vault.

The Update References wizard also provides menu options to:

  • Save the list of referenced files as a .csv file.
  • Open the file list in Excel.
  • Change the view of columns.
Before you can update references, you must check out the parent file and any referenced files such as subassemblies or multibody parts that contain references you want to modify.