Upgrade Options

One or more older major versions of SOLIDWORKS are installed on this computer. You can create a new installation, which will coexist with the older version, or you can upgrade, which removes the older version.

Create a New Installation of SOLIDWORKS version.

If you choose to create a new installation, you can select which SOLIDWORKS products to install.

For each of the selected products, a new installation of this major version is created. The older major versions remain on the machine, except for SOLIDWORKS Electrical and SOLIDWORKS PDM Client.

If you clear a product, the new version does not install.

Create a new installation is useful if you want to access the older version of SOLIDWORKS after the newer version is installed. For example, if you are sharing files with other users who are still running the older version, you can avoid version incompatibility with files saved using the newer version.

Upgrade SOLIDWORKS previous_major_version to SOLIDWORKS 2021 current_major_version.

If you choose to upgrade, you can select which SOLIDWORKS products to upgrade. For each of the selected products, a new installation is created, and older versions are removed.

If you clear a product, the new version does not install, and the older version remains on the machine.

Considerations for SOLIDWORKS Electrical and SOLIDWORKS PDM Client

You can only install one version of SOLIDWORKS Electrical on a machine. If you are creating a new installation of SOLIDWORKS, and select SOLIDWORKS Electrical as one of the products to install, the old version of SOLIDWORKS Electrical is removed.

Back up the existing SOLIDWORKS Electrical environment before you install a new version. From within SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic, select File Archive Environment, or from within SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D, select SOLIDWORKS Electrical > Tools > Archive Environment.

The major version of the SOLIDWORKS PDM Client must match the major version of the SOLIDWORKS PDM Server. If you do not plan to upgrade the SOLIDWORKS PDM Server, do not select SOLIDWORKS PDM Client for the upgrade.

To remove a product, in Windows, use Add/Remove Programs. For details, see Removing an Installation.