Navigation Pane

The navigation pane on the left lets you browse vaults and folders for all Windows File Explorer views.

The SOLIDWORKS PDM vault icon identifies the vaults to which you have access. The icon appears in both the Favorites list at the top of the navigation pane, and in the folder list at the bottom of the pane, in the location where you created the vault.

The first time you click a vault during your session, you may be prompted to log in.

When you expand a vault, the navigation pane displays the folders it contains. You can right-click a folder to view its properties or perform folder operations. The files in the folder appear in the right pane.

The color of folders in Windows File Explorer indicates their status in SOLIDWORKS PDM:

Green The folder is in a vault and you have access to the vault database.
Blue The folder is in a vault but you are off-line. Select Tools > Work On-line and log in.
Gray The folder is local to your hard disk drive and does not exist in the vault database. Right-click and select Add to File Vault if you have permission to add files to the vault.
Yellow The folder is not in your local view of the vault, and does not exist in the vault database.