Installation Type

You can specify the installation operation you would like to run. For example, creating a new installation, modifying or repairing an existing installation, creating an administrative image, installing administrative server products, or downloading files so you can share and install them on other computers.

If the most recent release of the SOLIDWORKS software is already installed on your computer, you are given options to modify or repair it.

Individual

Install SOLIDWORKS products on this computer.

This option appears only if this version is not installed on this computer.

Modify the Individual Installation

Modify the existing SOLIDWORKS installation on this computer.

This option appears only if this version is installed on this computer.
Modifications include:
  • Adding or removing SOLIDWORKS product components
  • Changing to a different SOLIDWORKS package (for example, SOLIDWORKS Professional, SOLIDWORKS Premium, and so on)
  • Changing the SOLIDWORKS serial number setting
    If you already specified a SOLIDWORKS serial number during a prior installation, SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager might not prompt for it again. To change the serial number, you must select this option.

Repair the Individual Installation

Repair the existing SOLIDWORKS installation on this computer.

This option appears only if this version is installed on this computer.
Repair verifies that all the files are present and registered properly and fixes any problems that are found. Data you have created is not affected.
  • To repair a product, ensure that it is selected.
  • Clear the check boxes for products you do not want to repair.
You can repair an individual installation. You cannot repair an administrative image installation; you must reinstall using the administrative image.

Administrative Image

Create or update an administrative image to deploy to multiple computers.

For details about installing SOLIDWORKS on multiple clients using administrative images, see Using Administrative Images.

When creating or updating administrative images:
  • You can use installation settings from an existing image to configure the new or updated image, or you can use the default SOLIDWORKS installations settings.
  • If you are updating an existing image:
    • SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager creates a new copy of the image, even if you are updating. The original image is not modified.
    • You can create the updated image using files from the existing image you are updating. This results in a smaller download.
    If you do not specify an image for which a Service Pack release is available to update the previous image, you cannot take advantage of the smaller download.

Server Products

SOLIDWORKS server products include SOLIDWORKS Electrical, SOLIDWORKS PDM, and SolidNetWork License Manager.

For SOLIDWORKS Electrical and SOLIDWORKS PDM, you can choose to install the client and server tools on the same computer or on different computers.

For details about installing these servers, see corresponding topics in the Help.

Download and Share All Files

Download the installation files for selected SOLIDWORKS products without installing the products.

This option does not appear if you are installing from DVD.
The content of the downloaded files is the same as the files that are available on the SOLIDWORKS installation DVDs. Selecting this option downloads the full set of installation files, regardless of what files might already be installed on your computer. You can then copy the files to a portable device or network directory, and use them to install the SOLIDWORKS software on other computers. You can also use this method to set up a server from which your users can perform installations.
This method is different from creating an administrative image.