Toolbox - Customize Hardware

Use the Customize Hardware page to select standards, categories, types, and components. At the component level you can select component sizes, type property values, and type part numbers.

To simplify configuration, select only the hardware that you use.

Navigate through standards using the left pane or by clicking folders in the right pane.

To access the Customize Hardware page:

  1. From Windows, click Start > SOLIDWORKS Tools version > Toolbox Settings version.
  2. Click 2 - Customize Your Hardware.

To configure a particular type or component:

Right-click the folder or component in the SOLIDWORKS Design Library task pane and select Configure.

You customize hardware by selecting individual components and setting their property values.

To display a component:

Click a standard in the left pane and expand its categories and types, or click the folder icons in the right pane. Under a type, select a component. The page shows the component icon, name, and the number of possible configurations.

Reduce the number of configurations for a component by clearing sizes and configuration values you do not use. As a result, you have fewer part numbers to enter and a smaller Toolbox that is easier to use.

Left Pane

The Toolbox Standards tree in the left pane lists standards, categories, and types, in addition to the custom folders and components you define.

You can right-click items in the left pane and perform the following on files in standards folders, categories of standard folders, folders of types of components within a category, or individual component files:
  • Cut and paste files, retaining file names
  • Copy and paste files
  • Delete files
  • Insert new subfolders
  • Add new files

You can double-click file or folder names to rename them.

Right Pane

Only items that are selected in the right pane are included in your Toolbox. You can select or clear items in the right pane.

To remove an item, clear the check box. Once you clear an item, it is disabled in the left and right panes until you select it again.
If you delete an item or standard from the left pane it remains unavailable.

To open a standard, category, or type, click a folder in the right pane. Click Back Up to navigate up one level.

Click Purge Inactive Data tool to inactive configuration data from Toolbox part files.

To select or clear component sizes and edit component properties, select the individual component.

Standard Properties

Click a standard property name and select or clear values in the list on the right.

  General Description. Names the component in the Toolbox Standards tree.
To rename a standard, modify the description.

Filename. Specifies the relative path to the master part for the selected component.

Use single Part Number per size, regardless of length is available for components with editable length properties, such as structural steel. Select this option to assign one part number for all lengths of a given size. Clear this option to assign a part number to each length. When selected, the Length and Configuration Name columns are removed and the table lists only configurations with unique sizes.
  Component properties The list of properties varies by component. Common properties include dimensions (such as Size) and Thread Display.

The property values you select determine the total number of component configurations. Clear size and other property values to reduce the number of configurations.
Global Property Indicates the property is shared with other components in the standard.
Add New Size Opens the Add New Size dialog box, where you can add a custom size to the hardware size or length configuration property list.
  Color Specifies the display color for the component. Click a color, or click Default Color to restore the default.

Custom Properties

Custom properties are user-defined component properties. You can create custom text properties and lists.

Once you create a custom property, it appears in the Custom Properties list. You select it to apply it to a component:

You can then set property default values in the list on the right. The property has read-only values until you select it.

Add New Custom Property Creates a new custom property. See Custom Property Definition.
Modify Custom Property Edits an existing custom property. See Custom Property Definition.
Delete Custom Property Deletes the property from Toolbox.
Material Custom Property Indicates a custom property that lists materials from the SOLIDWORKS Materials library. You can create only one property linked to the SOLIDWORKS Materials library.

Property Value List

When you click a standard or custom property, the data pane displays a list of values for the property. You use the value list to select or clear sizes of standard properties.

For custom text properties, you can set default values for the selected component.

For custom list properties:
  • To disable list items for the selected component, clear Enabled.
  • To designate the default value, click Default.

Configuration List

The configuration list contains all possible combinations of the standard and custom properties values for a selected component.

If you clear a property value, the list is updated and the configuration count is reduced.

The list columns are the component properties. All of the columns except Part Number, Description, and Comment are view-only. The values for Part Number, Description, and Comment appear in the configuration properties in SOLIDWORKS.

  Configuration Name

Contains property values for each configuration in abbreviated form.

  Part Number
Specifies the configuration part number.
In Toolbox, Part Number is the SOLIDWORKS bill of materials (BOM) part number. If you use a different configuration-specific custom property in SOLIDWORKS PDM for part numbers, use that custom property for your Toolbox parts as well.

For example, the standard SOLIDWORKS PDM part data card maps to the SOLIDWORKS Number custom property. To use the standard part data card with Toolbox parts, create and populate a Number custom property in Toolbox instead of using Part Number.

  Description

Specifies a configuration description.
  Comment

Specifies a comment for the configuration.
Import/Export

Import/Export is located above the configuration list scroll bar.

Click Import/Export and do any of the following:
  • To import customized parts from an Excel spreadsheet, click Import Data.
  • To export the configuration table to an Excel spreadsheet so that you can enter configuration part numbers and other values, click Export Data. See Customizing Parts with Part Numbers.
  • To create a new SOLIDWORKS part for each listed configuration in the parts folder specified on the User Settings page, click Create parts. SOLIDWORKS must be running to create parts. This option is available if Create parts is selected (see Toolbox - User Settings).
    Create Parts can create thousands of part files for a single component. Do not select it unless you are a Toolbox administrator and know that part files are needed.
  • To add all listed configurations to the master part file, click Create Configurations. This is available if you clear Create parts (see Toolbox - User Settings).
You can rearrange columns by dragging column headers.