Saving SOLIDWORKS Documents as Previous Versions

Addressing incompatible items might significantly change a model. Save a copy of the current model and address incompatible items in that copy before saving it as a previous version.

To save SOLIDWORKS documents as a previous version:

  1. Open or save a SOLIDWORKS document in the latest version of SOLIDWORKS.
    If you open an assembly in lightweight mode, Pack and Go only saves the top-level assembly and components referenced in assembly features. To save all files as previous versions, open the assembly in resolved mode.
  2. Do one of the following:
    Option Description
    SOLIDWORKS users Click File > Save As.
    3DEXPERIENCE users Click File > Save As New. In the Save As New dialog box, click Save to This PC.
    3DEXPERIENCE users can only save documents as previous versions when you save them to disk. You cannot save documents as previous versions to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
  3. In the Save As dialog box, for Save as type, select the previous version to which to save the document and click Save.

    If there are Incompatible Items or Other Items in the document, the Previous Release Check dialog box appears. For example, saving SOLIDWORKS 2024 to SOLIWORKS 2022 lists items that are not compatible with SOLIDWORKS 2022. Otherwise, the software saves the document as the previous version.

  4. Optional: In the dialog box, for Previous Release, you can change the previous version to which you want to save the model. The list of Incompatible Items and Other Items updates.
  5. Follow the guidelines in the dialog box. If there are incompatible items, the save-as process has been canceled. You must reinitiate the process after addressing incompatible items.
    1. On the Incompatible Items tab, review the Recommended Action to address the incompatible items.
    2. As you work through the items, click Update to refresh the list. The dialog box remains open as you address these items.
    3. On the Other Items tab, review the items that the software will automatically modify or delete.
    If the document contains only Other Items and no Incompatible Items, on the Other Items tab, click Proceed With Save to save the document to the previous version.
    After you address all the Incompatible Items, a message confirms that the document is fully compatible with the selected previous release.
    If the assembly is in lightweight mode, a warning lists unopened files that will not save as a previous version. To save the files, re-open the assembly in resolved mode and return to step 2. To continue without saving the files, click OK.
  6. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to save the file to the selected previous release.