Renaming Configurations

Hey, they have been sneaking a lot of cool things into the SolidWorks service packs during this 2009 release. One of them is the ability to rename configurations.

You can rename a configuration in a part or subassembly even when another open document is referencing the configuration. Previously, you had to close the parent document before renaming the configuration.

Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud...

A couple of SolidWorks releases ago, the company implemented a new way of licensing software called "Activation". This will require SolidWorks and Simulation software to be activated each time the software is installed. You can think of an activated license of SolidWorks as a water molecule that is pulled from a central "cloud" in the sky of SolidWorks.

When you install SolidWorks for the first time, it will ask you to activate the software. This will send encryped computer information to the SolidWorks cloud and the SolidWorks will send you back an activation.

If you change your hard drive out or install SolidWorks on a new computer, you should transfer your license. This will send your currently activation out to the SolidWorks cloud. Then when you install the software on another computer, and activate it again, it will pull an available activation back from the cloud. This is pretty simple to do. Just go to the help menu and choose transfer license and follow the instructions.

If you do no do this, you cannot activate SolidWorks again, EVER! Just kidding... You just need to get ahold of us at the hotline and we can change which computer is granted activation rights.

Printing to scale, revisited...

If you remember, long ago in a far away place in the land of SolidWorks, one was able to print a drawing selection to scale. The SolidWorks user was whisked to the drawing allowed to move a picture frame on screen to print whatever they wanted to. For some reason this disappeared, for about 6 months. The prodigal print to selection is back! This was added back in SP3 of SolidWorks. Simply go to the "Print" command and you will notice that the "Print Selection" options are back.

In the purgatory between 2008 and 2009 SP3 however, in my dream of printing to scale I asked myself, could this be done in the SolidWorks eDrawings Viewer? And the and answer is a resounding yes. Most of the cool print to scale options are available in the eDrawings viewer as well. It's almost easier to naviagte the print application in eDrawings than it is in SolidWorks itself. Take a look at these options and have fun with them...