File Preparation Assistant Dialog Box

You can use File Preparation Assistant to evaluate your files for common issues before saving the files to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

1. In SOLIDWORKS, click Tools > File Preparation Assistant.
2. In the dialog box, click Add Folder.
3. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, select a folder and click OK.
4. Under Backup and Logs, select folders for:
   • Select a folder in which to create a backup

     Stores a copy of modified files in the backup folder.

   • Select a folder in which to create a log files

     Stores log files and the HTML analysis results file created by the evaluation.

5. Under Options, select the items to evaluate:

   Replace leading/trailing spaces in filenames with "_"	Replaces leading or trailing spaces in a file name with an underscore "_".
   Detect duplicate files and prompt to merge	Searches for duplicate files. When duplicate files are found, the Merge Duplicates dialog box opens. Select an option: Match on filename Checks for identical file names. Match on filename and configuration names Checks for identical file names, configuration names, and the number of configurations. Match on filename and file creation timestamp Checks for identical file names and file creation timestamps.
   Extend filenames to be at least three characters	Adds an underscore "_" to a file name when a file name has only one or two characters. 3DSearch requires at least three characters in a file name to index the file.
   Detect 3DInterconnect references	Identifies files that have 3DInterconnect references and lists the files in the log file. No changes are made to the SOLIDWORKS files.
   Detect missing file references	Identifies missing file references and provides details in the log file. No changes are made to the SOLIDWORKS files. If files are moved after the last save of the model, missing file warnings are generated for the moved files.
   Detect missing configuration references	Identifies missing configuration references and provides details in the log file. No changes are made to the SOLIDWORKS files.
   Detect out-of-date configuration data	Lists information about outdated configurations. This could happen if you delete a configuration and do not rebuild the model. Rebuild the documents before saving them to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
   Detect files not updated for 3DEXPERIENCE compatibility	Runs the compatibility check on the selected files, which verifies if the files have been updated to the new 3DEXPERIENCE Configuration Manager. To automatically update files for 3DEXPERIENCE compatibility, click Tools > Options > System Options > 3DEXPERIENCE Integration and select Update SOLIDWORKS files for compatibility with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. For more information, see 3DEXPERIENCE Integration Options. To manually update files for 3DEXPERIENCE compatibility, with a model open in the FeatureManager design tree, right-click the top item and select Update for 3DEXPERIENCE Compatibility. For more information, see Updating Models for 3DEXPERIENCE Compatibility.
   Check custom property values	Identifies files where the attribute mapping will fail because of mismatched data types. To add a custom property check: Select Check custom property values. Click Custom Property Checks In the dialog box, add the name of a SOLIDWORKS custom property for SOLIDWORKS Custom Property Name. Select an option for the Mapped Attribute Data Type. Click OK.

6. Click Start.
   The File Preparation Assistant automatically performs additional checks.

   Additional Check	Description
   Updates file extension	Updates files that have old file format extensions (.prt, .asm, .drw) to the current file extensions (.SLDPRT, .SLDASM, .SLDDRW).
   Number of configurations	Counts the number of configurations and displays that information in the log file.
   File version	Checks for files older than SOLIDWORKS 2021.

   The software creates an HTML file of the results in the log file folder.
   
   
7. Review the analysis results for information on potential issues before saving the model to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
   
   
   To display the required data, click Statistics as shown above or Alerts as shown below.
   
   

   To download individual reports as CSV files from the HTML analysis, click next to the report.