SOLIDWORKS PDM Add-in Options

The SOLIDWORKS PDM Add-in Options let you customize the add-in interface and commands.

To set options:

Click Tools > SOLIDWORKS PDM > Options.

Options - Server Tab

Show warning message if modifying a checked in file Displays the following message: "The file being modified is not checked-out in SOLIDWORKS PDM. To have the modifications applied on this file, please check it out." Click Yes to check out the file in SOLIDWORKS PDM. Click No to open the file in read-only mode.
Show File data card when new file is saved Displays the SOLIDWORKS PDM file data card after you save a new file.
Activate the Custom properties (@) page by default Displays the Custom Properties tab on the SOLIDWORKS PDM file data card by default when Show File data card when new file is saved is selected.
Prompt to check out file if opened in read-only mode Displays the Check Out dialog box. To check out the file, select the files to check out and click Check Out.
During check out, also check out the derived documents that are opened

Prompt

Prompts you to save derived parts.

Always

Automatically checks out derived parts.

Never

Does not check out derived parts.
Show extra tree pane Determines where the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree, which shows file information and provides access to SOLIDWORKS PDM commands, is displayed.

Hide

The SOLIDWORKS PDM pane is not displayed.

Top FeatureManager Tree

Once selected, move the cursor to the top of the FeatureManager panel and drag the bar down below the last item in the panel to reveal two FeatureManager panes. The SOLIDWORKS PDM tab appears on the top pane.

Bottom FeatureManager Tree

Once selected, move the cursor to the top of the FeatureManager panel and drag the bar down below the last item in the panel to reveal two FeatureManager panes. The SOLIDWORKS PDM tab appears on the bottom pane.

Task Pane

The SOLIDWORKS PDM tab appears on the task pane.
Automatically update tree in the extra tree pane

Updates the display of the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree when you make changes to the open model.

You can choose whether the actions below update the tree pane or not.

Changes other users make to vault files that are referenced in the model you are viewing, such as checking out or renaming files, always cause the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree to refresh.
After a component's window has been activated. Updates the tree when you open a different component in a SOLIDWORKS window.
After a component has been added, deleted, or renamed. Updates the tree when you or another user add, delete or rename a component.
After a component has been reloaded. Updates the tree when you reload modified files using the SOLIDWORKS File > Reload command.
After a component has been suppressed or un-suppressed. When selected, the component name appearance in the tree changes when you suppress or unsuppress a file.

For example, component names in the tree show black for unsuppressed files. When you suppress a component, the name becomes grey.

When cleared, the component name appearance remains unchanged when you suppress or unsuppress a file.
After the get, check out and check in operations. Updates the Checked Out By column in the tree when you or another user run the Check Out or Check In commands.

Updates the Version Number column and QuickInfo icons when you run the Get command.
Reload tree when selecting a component that has been unloaded

Prompt

Prompts you to reload the tree.

Always

Automatically reloads the tree.

Never

Does not reload the tree.
Vault Settings (SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional only)

Vault access and serial numbers are configured by the SOLIDWORKS PDM administrator.

Vault Select the vault for which you are changing vault settings. Only vaults you are logged into are available.
Serial Numbers Tabs for Parts, Assemblies, and Drawings let you specify how serial numbers are used for each file type.
Automatically name new files with serial number Automatically names new files of the selected file type with the serial number.
Automatically name files on save as with serial number Automatically names files of the selected file type with the serial number when saving files.
Serial number Specifies the serial number type from the list box. Serial number types are configured by an administrator.

When you select <NOT USED>, the options for automatically naming files using serial numbers are not available.

Options - View Setting Tab

Arrow buttons jump to next file in the tree (not the next row) Up and Down keys advance the cursor to the next file, not the next row.
Display instances of parts Turn the display of part instances on. When cleared a part appears only once in the tree, even if it is inserted more than once in the assembly.
Display instances of assemblies When checked, every instance of a subassembly has a separate node in the task pane tree.

To improve performances for large assemblies with many instances of the same subassembly, clear this option. Only one instance of each subassembly is displayed in the task pane tree. Select a subassembly in the task pane to highlight all instances in the graphics area.
Display top level derived part references in assemblies and drawings Displays top-level derived part references in reference structures for assemblies and drawings.
You can turn off individual warnings by disabling the checkbox in front of the warning. This disables both the icon and the background color for the warning.
Display Information

Use this section to select information and variables to display in the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree and to specify where and how the information is displayed.

Information to display Adds the information and variables you select to the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree, using the following display setting:

Display as a node in the tree

Displays the selected variable in the file tree.

Display in preview

Displays the selected variable in the SOLIDWORKS PDM preview area at the bottom of the pane.

Display in a column of its own

Displays the selected variable as a column in the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree.

Caption

Only available when Display in a column of its own is selected. Type the column header name.

Display as part of the file name column

Displays the variable within brackets as part of the file name.

Brackets

Only available when Display as part of the file name column is selected.

Uses the bracket style you choose to display the information in the File/Variable column.
Optimized variable preview Reads values from the SQL database.
Display Status

Options in this section control how warnings are displayed in the SOLIDWORKS PDM tree pane.

Show quick-info icon Turns on or turns off Child Quick Info icons.

Child Quick Info icons indicate the status of the in-session SOLIDWORKS file and its references. These icons appear at the assembly level, so that you can see status warnings for all lower level files in an assembly and its subassemblies without having to fully expand the assembly tree.
Show Background Colors

Turns on or turns off background colors.

If a file or component meets the condition of a Quick Info warning, it appears in the tree with the background color shown.

To change the background color for an icon, click in the Background Color column and select a color from the drop-down list. To define a custom color, click More to display the Color dialog box.

You can also turn off individual warning icons and background colors that appear in the SOLIDWORKS PDM Task Pane.

To turn off the warning icons and background colors in the SOLIDWORKS PDM Task Pane, clear the check boxes next to each status for the warning icons and its background colors to suppress.

You cannot change width of the Icon column.