SOLIDWORKS Manage 2018 Getting Started Guide

2018 SP 3 Update
Please read the following information before attempting to install SOLIDWORKS Manage 2018 SP 1 or newer in a demo
environment:

 The first full release of SOLIDWORKS Manage is 2018 SP 1.

 SOLIDWORKS Manage requires the SolidNetwork License (SNL) Manager in order to obtain access to the system.
This includes logging in as the administrator. The latest version of the 2018 SNL Manager must be installed and
accessible by the clients running SOLIDWORKS Manage.
 The previous license file distributed with the Beta and Pre-release version of the Getting Started materials
expired on November 30, 2017. Existing SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional demo serial numbers have been
updated to include SOLIDWORKS Manage licenses. Thus switching back to activation based SNL licensing will
provide access to SOLIDWORKS Manage licenses.
 Current SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional commercial (customer) serial numbers will not have SOLIDWORKS
Manage Professional licenses.

Getting Started with SOLIDWORKS Manage 2018

The following information will provide instructions on how to install and run SOLDIWORKS Manage in a demo or training
environment. It is not intended to be a replacement for a comprehensive training class or provide instructions on how
to demonstrate the product. Demonstration materials will be provided in the near future on the VAR Resource Center
(VRC).

Prerequisites required before installing SOLIDWORKS Manage 2018:

 SQL Server 2014 Standard or Express Editions. There have been some issues with older versions of SQL so
please upgrade to 2014 before installing or upgrading SOLIDWORKS Manage.
 You must know your SQL Server System Administrator “sa” password
 ASP.Net 4.0 or higher from Microsoft. This can be downloaded from:
https://www.microsoft.com/net/download/framework
 Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). Instructions for installing and configuring IIS can be found in
Appendix A.
 SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional 2018 SP 1 or newer that is locally installed and running. Make sure you have
upgraded at least one vault after upgrading to SOLIDWORKS PDM 2018 and that you can log into a local view. It
is a good idea to upgrade SOLIDWORKS PDM and SOLIDWORKS Manage to be on the same service pack.
 If you have a previous version of SOLIDWORKS Manage loaded, please uninstall both the server and client via
Control Panel before proceeding. You do not need to remove the SQL database or the files under the server
install location unless you want to create a brand new environment and delete any existing data.
 Remove the existing SOLIDWORKS Manage add-in from the SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional vault using the PDM
Administration tool. It will appear as SWM.SWPDM-1 under the add-in node.
 Installing SOLIDWORKS Manage

1. SOLIDWORKS Manage has a similar architecture to SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional and utilizes the same SQL
Server, but has a separate database. The image below depicts a typical environment where separate servers are
used for hosting the database, file server and web server functions. For smaller environments a single server
could be used.

2. To begin installation, download SOLIDWORKS 2018 Service Pack 1 (or newer) Installation Manager from the
SOLIDWORKS download site.
3. Run the 2018 Installation Manager and choose the option for Server products.
4. Choose to either install or update SOLIDWORKS PDM Server, SOLIDWORKS Manage Server and the SNL
Manager.
5. To configure the required settings for the server
components, click the change link on the
summary page for each of the servers where
additional information is required.

6. Enter the required information for the SQL

Server name and instance (if other than the
default instance) the “sa” password and whether
a new database is to be created or to use an
existing one.

7. Enter the license server information and select

the server components to install and where to
install the SOLIDWORKS Manage File Server. This
is where certain files are stored that are not part
of a SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional vault. This
would usually be on the same server as the
SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive Server.
8. Then click Back to Summary
9. Enter any required information for the
SOLIDWORKS PDM Server and serial number(s).
10. Then click Install Now.

11. After updating SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, update any vault databases to the new version. You will need to
run the SOLIDWORKS PDM database upgrade tool located in the Upgrade folder under the SWPDMServer folder
in the installation files.
12. Verify there are available SOLIDWORKS Manage
Professional licenses available in the SNL Manager.
Open the SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork License
Manager Server application from
Start>SOLIDWORKS 2018>SOLIDWORKS Tools.
13. Click on the License Usage tab and click the Product
drop list. Select one of the SOLIDWORKS Manage
Professional license types.
14. Verify the number of Total Licenses displayed is not
zero.
15. If no SOLIDWORKS Manage Professional licenses
are displayed in the drop list, the SOLIDWORKS
PDM Professional demo serial number, which contains the SOLIDWORKS Manage Professional licenses, needs to
be activated.

NOTE: SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional serial numbers can only be activated on a single computer. If the activation
failed because the number of activations was exceeded, deactivate the serial number on the other computer that
may have a SNL Manager running. This is done via the SolidNetWork License Manager Server application using the
Modify option.

16. To add serial numbers to the SNL Manager

follow these steps:
a. To make sure the SOLIDWORKS PDM
Professional serial number has been
added to the activation list. Go to
Control Panel\Programs\Programs and
Features and choose SOLIDWORKS
SolidNetWork License Manager line
item.
b. Click the Change button
c. The SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork License
Manager Setup dialog will appear. Click Next.

d. Choose the Modify option in the Program

Maintenance dialog, then click Next
 e. If the SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional serial does
not appear in the string of serial numbers in the
License Information dialog or if it is empty, type in
the serial number. Remember to add a comma
between multiple serial numbers. Then click Next

f. Click Install to add the serial number and then Finish

17. To activate a serial number, follow these steps:

a. Open the SNL Manager Server application from the Start menu
b. Click on Options then choose Use Activation if not already selected then click OK.

c. On the Server Administration tab under the License

Information area, click on Modify
d. Choose the Activate/Reactivate option, and then
click Next. NOTE: If the serial number is activated on
another computer then it will need to be moved. In
that case run the SNL Manager Server on the other
computer and choose the Move your product
license(s) to a new/upgraded computer option.
e. Select the serial to be activated then click Next

f. Licenses for SOLIDWORKS Manage Editor,

Contributor, and Viewer (Version 26.0) should appear
in the list along with licenses SOLIDWORKS PDM
Professional (Version 26). Click Finish, then click OK to
close the SNL Manager.
 Installing SOLIDWORKS Manage 2018 Client on a Server

1. Once the SOLIDWORKS Manage Server and SOLIDWORKS PDM Server components are installed on a computer,
the clients cannot be installed via the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager (IM) and must be installed via the
Setup.exe files located in the installation files. If installing only the clients, then the SOLIDWORKS IM can be
used.
2. Verify the installed versions of .Net
Framework and Visual C++ Redistributable.
a. These prerequisites are usually installed by
the SOLIDWORKS IM. Check the version of
.Net Framework to see if it is 4.6.2 or
higher by going to Control
Panel\Programs\Programs and Features.
b. If .Net 4.6.2 or higher is not installed, it can
be downloaded from Microsoft.
c. Check the version of Visual C++
Redistributable to see if 2015 - 14.0.24212
or higher is installed by going to Control
Panel\Programs\Programs and Features.
d. If 2015 -14.0.24212is not installed, it can
be downloaded from Microsoft.

3. SOLIDWORKS Manage Client Installation (For

computers with server components already installed)
a. Browse into the folder named SWManageClient in
the SOLIDWORKS 2018 SP1 or newer installation
files.
b. Double click on the setup.exe file
c. You will see the Welcome dialog after the setup is
initialized. Then click Next.
d. Choose the installation location, and then click
Next.
e. Select the SOLIDWORKS Add-in if SOLIDWORKS is
installed, then click Next
f. Click Install, then click Finish when the installation
has completed.
g. To install/update the SOLIDWORKS PDM
Professional, change the SOLIDWORKS PDM
Server installation via Control
Panel\Programs\Programs and Features.

h. Click Next, then choose the Modify option.

i. Select SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional in the Select PDM

Product dialog.

j. Select or unselect the desired SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional

server components, then click Next.
k. Select the desired client installation, click Next
l. Select the desired application add-ins to be installed and
click Next.

m. Enter the SQL Server information, then click Next

n. Click Install then Finish
 Verifying Server Component Installation

1. To confirm the IIS based file server is operating properly, open Computer Management and select Internet
Information Services under Services and Applications or Open IIS directly by typing “iis” in the Start menu and
selecting Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. Verify the server installation created a website in IIS called SWManage and two Application Pools called
SOLIDWORKS Manage File Server and SOLIDWORKS Manage Web.
a. SOLIDWORKS Manage has its own separate file server it uses for special non-controlled files and for files that
are not stored in a SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional vault (this is would not be a typical scenario).
b. The file server is a web service and can be found by expanding the Sites node, then expanding the SWManage
node.

c. Click on the Browse link on the right

side of the dialog. This will open your
default browser and should look
similar to the image on the right. If
an error appears then refer to the IIS
Troubleshooting information in
Appendix B
3. SOLIDWORKS Manage Configuration file
a. SOLIDWORK Manage utilizes a configuration file that provides clients with information about the database
server and the license server. This file is named SWmanage.swmc by default and is automatically created
and placed under the SOLIDWORKS Manage Server installation folder (typically C:\Program
Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKS Manage Server\Fileserver). It needs to be accessible by all users and
cannot be stored in the PDM vault.
b. The file encrypts and stores the SQL
Server user name and password and
the license server information that
was entered during the server
installation.
c. To edit the configuration file, browse
into the Server Utilities folder located
under the SOLIDWORKS Manage
installation folder (typically
C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS
Corp\SOLIDWORKS Manage
Server\Server Utils).
d. Double click on the
SWM.configwizrd.exe file which
opens up the Configuration Wizard. Click the Open button and browse to the configuration file
described in Step 3.a above. You will be prompted for a password which is the SQL Server “sa”
password you entered during the server installation.
e. Change any of the information then click Save. You will be prompted to enter a password for the file.
This can be the same as the SQL Server “sa” password or another one.

Installing SOLIDWORKS Manage Client 2018 on non-Servers

1. Run the SOLIDWORKS 2018 Installation

Manager and choose the option for
Individual products.
2. Under Products section, select Change and
tic the boxes next to SOLIDWORKS Manage
Client and the SolidWorks Add-in. You can
change any of the other selections as
required, but make sure SOLIDWORKS and
eDrawings are both installed. Complete the
installation as you normally would.
 Logging into SOLIDWORKS Manage for the first time

1. Start SOLIDWORKS Manage by clicking on the application link under Start>SOLIDWORKS 2018>SOLIDWORKS
Manage 2018. You may see the following warning message.

2. Click OK to the warning, then click the blue “plus sign” button and browse to the SWmanage.swmc file
described in Section 3 of the Verifying Server Component Installation. If the computer had a previous
installation of SOLIDWORKS Manage and the existing database was used in the server installation, then
connections to previous SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional vaults may appear

3. You can also choose different interface schemes and a different license type under the Options area of the log in
dialog
4. Enter the user name of “admin” (no
quotes) and the same for the password,
then click OK. The interface you see
should look similar to the image to the
right.
5. If an error message appears saying that it
failed to get a license, verify the
configuration file has the correct license
server entered. Please see Section 3 of
the Verifying Server Component
Installation above.
6. To access the administration tool, click on the Options tab (upper left), then click on the Administration Options
menu item. The administration tool is used to configure all aspects of SOLIDWORKS Manage and also provides a
link to the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration tool.
7. To connect to a SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional vault, click on the Structures module in the lower left corner,
then click on the Documents & Structures section in the upper left. Then click on the New PDM Object button.

2 3

8. The SW PDM Configuration Wizard will start. Click Next at the bottom right of the dialog. Enter a name for the
object. This can be any name but typically it is the name of the PDM vault you are going to connect.
9. Every object in SOLIDWORKS Manage
requires a number, even though part
numbers for PDM records in Manage will
most likely come from PDM variables,
SOLIDWORKS Manage still needs a
numbering scheme specified. Select the
Simple numbering scheme from the
dropdown and leave the Revision Scheme as
is.
10. SOLIDWORKS Manage will have preselected
the SQL Server and a PDM vault database. If
you wish to choose a different vault, select
it from the Database dropdown.
SOLIDWORKS Manage automatically reads all the PDM Professional vaults that exist on the server and lists
them. Leave the Schema set to dbo.
11. If the Show synchronization steps is selected, a dialog will appear that shows each step of the synchronization.
This can be help for large PDM vaults. Click Next
12. Click Next on the Fields dialog and Next again on the Bill of Materials dialog.
 a. NOTE: This Getting Started Guide is not intended to provide details on each of the dialogs in the wizard. It
will mainly serve as way to connect a PDM vault to SOLIDWORKS Manage with minimal configuration.
13. The Part Number, Description and Revision mapping dialog allows you to configure which PDM data card
variables should be used for the required part number, description and revision fields. By default SOLIDWORKS
Manage will use the file name as the part number and description and the PDM version number for the revision.
To have SOLIDWORKS Manage use PDM variables named Number, Description, and Revision, click the Auto map
All button. If a variable on each of the listed data cards exists with those names it will change the values in the
table. You can also click the Number, Description and Revision buttons to map only those names. If the
variables on your PDM data cards do not match the default names you can chose the variable for each item in
the table. NOTE: There have been some reported issues with auto mapping with the Number variable. If you see
this in your configuration, manually set the Number variables.

14. Once you set the variables, click the Save button the click Next
15. Configuration Options
a. SOLIDWORKS Manage has the option of creating one record for each SOLIDWORKS part and assembly file or
to create records for all configurations. When records are created for each configuration, some
configurations can be designated as Active which allows them to be used in Bills of Materials, Processes,
Projects, etc. Inactive configurations are not visible in the main areas of SOLIDWORKS Manage and only
appear when viewing the details of a record.
b. To automatically designate certain configurations as being active or inactive, conditions can be configured.
If the option “Do not create records based on the following conditions” is selected and no conditions are
listed, then an active configuration record will be created for every configuration in the SOLIDWORKS file. If
the option “Create records based on the following conditions” is selected and no conditions are listed then
only the PDM @ configuration will be designated as active.
c. For the purposes of this initial set up, select the “Create records based on the following conditions” option
and do not enter any conditions. Then click Next.
16. PDM Projects
a. SOLIDWORKS Manage has the ability to configure when a record is created for files in a SOLIDWORKS PDM
Professional vault based on the PDM workflow state. This may be desirable in a hybrid environment where
both SOLIDWORKS Manage and SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional users work in the same PDM vault or other
 scenarios. Once a record is created in SOLIDWORKS Manage for a PDM file, the only way it can be edited is
with a SOLIDWORKS Manage client. SOLIDWORKS Manage licenses also allow a logged in user to access a
PDM vault.
b. For the purposes of this initial set up all files in PDM will have records created regardless of what state they
are in. Click the root folder in the folder structure list on the left, then tic the Any State box then click the
Save button at the top right of the dialog.

c. SOLIDWORKS Manage can also automatically create a Process whenever a file in SOLIDWORKS PDM
Professional is sent through a specific transition. For instance this could be used to start an Engineering
Change Request process when the Request Change transition is used. For the purposes of this initial set up,
do not specify and processes to start. Click Next.
17. SW PDM –SW Manage Users and Groups
a. SOLIDWORKS Manage can read and create users and groups from SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional. It is
important set up the system admin for both SOLIDWORKS Manage and SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional to
be the same user with the same password. If not already set, click in the area to the right of the Admin user
name in under the SW Manage User column and choose Admin System. The other PDM users and groups
should already be set. Then click Next.
18. Access Rights - Accept the default settings where all users in the organization have Full control, then click Next.
19. Attached Files
a. SOLIDWORKS Manage has different ways of connecting records to other records and non-controlled files.
Related files are non-controlled files that can be attached to a record and are only visible from within the
record. These files could be email messages, image files, reports, etc. References are links to other records in
SOLIDWORKS Manage. To organize Related files, a series of folders can be defined as required.
b. Accept the defaults values of only allowing Related files and the single folder called “Files” by clicking Next.
20. Tab Properties
a. SOLIDWORKS Manage has property tabs to display information about each record similar to the SOLIDWORKS
PDM Professional tabs displayed in Windows Explorer. Each property tabs can be configured to change the
display name and whether a certain user or group can see a particular tab.
b. Tic the boxes under the Enabled column for the Properties, BOM, SWConfigurations, Related Files, Where
Used, and the ToDo tabs. You will see that the access rights are automatically assigned to all users.
c. To change the display name of a tab click in the text box under the Display Name column for a particular tab.
For instance change the display name for the SWConfiguration tab and change the name to just
Configurations. Then click Next.

21. Click through the Reports, Special Objects, Notifications and Email dialogs the click Finish. The system may ask if
you want to resync the data. If so click Yes.
22. Close the SOLIDWORKS Manage Administration Tool.
23. To see the SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional vault inside of the SOLIDWORKS Manage Documents & Records
module, right click (RMB) in the white space in the structure area on the left side and choose Refresh Tree from
the menu.

RMB
 SOLIDWORKS Manage Add-in for SOLIDWORKS PDM

1. SOLIDWORKS Manage has an add-in for

SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional that
enables SOLIDWORKS Manage
functions and data to be available from
within Windows Explorer. This includes
a new tab in Windows Explorer that
will display SOLIDWORKS Manage
information related to a selected file.
2. To enable the SOLIDWORKS Manage
Add-in for SOLIDWORKS PDM
Professional, open the SOLIDWORKS
PDM Professional Administration tool
and expand/log into the vault that you
connected in the previous section.
3. If there is an existing add-in for
SOLIDWORKS Manage loaded, remove it first before loading the new version.
4. Right click on the Add-ins node and select New add-in. Browse into the SOLIDWORKS Manage client installation
location (typically C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKS Manage Client) and select the .dll file
named SWM.swpdm.dll (the file is located near the bottom of the file list).
5. Then click Open, then click OK to close the Add-in dialog and OK again to the message about client machines
needing to be restarted.
6. It is also recommneded to add a copy of the
configuration file (.swmc) along with the add-in dll,
if there will be SOLIDWORKS PDM only users
connecting to the vault on machines where
SOLIDWORKS Manage is not installed. This is done
by opening the SWM.SWPDM-1 add-in in the
SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration tool, then
clicking on the Files node and selecting Add Files…
Change the file type drop down to All Files (*.*),
then browse to the configuration file described in
Section 3. Select Open to add the file.

7. If you are already logged into SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, exit by right
clicking on the system tray icon and choosing Exit.
8. Log into the local view of the vault with the SOLIDWORKS Manage add-in. You should see a new tab named
SOLIDWORKS Manage. In addition there will be new menu items available on the file right click menu.
 SOLIDWORKS Manage add-in for SOLIDWORKS

1. SOLIDWORKS Manage has its own add-in for SOLIDWORKS that can be
used together with the SOLIDWORKS PDM add-in. There are
advantages to each add-in and a user can decide which suits their
needs. In future releases the features of each will be combined into a
single add-in.
2. To enable the SOLIDWORKS Manage add-in, open SOLDIWORKS and go
to Tools>Options>Add-ins and select the SOLIDWORKS Manage add-in
from the list.
3. You will see the SOLIDWORKS Manage log in screen appear. This extra
log in step does not consume another license and will be eliminated in
the future.
4. One of the main advantages of the SOLIDWORKS Manage add-in is that
is has a built in search function. Files can be checked out and in from
either add-in.
 APPENDIX A

Configuring Internet Information Services

1. Go to Control panel > Add Remove Programs. Select the option 2. On the Windows Features dialog, select the
on the right side of the dialog to turn Windows features on or off. following items:
 APPENDIX B

Troubleshooting IIS

If you have experienced issues with not being able to browse to the SOLDIWORKS Manage File Server website, here are
a few things to check.

 Permission settings for websites

o To ensure IIS users have proper access to the websites, right click
on the SWMfs site and select Edit Permissions

 Click the Security tab, the click the Edit button

 Click Add

 Click Advanced
 Click Find Now then select the IIS_USRS and IUSR from the list, then click OK.
 click OK on the Select Users and Groups dialog

 Assign Modify rights to both groups then click OK.

 Appendix C
This Appendix contains information on the new functionality that has been added to SOLIDWORKS Manage 2018 since
its first availability in 2918 Service Pack 0.1 when it was in Pre-Release.

What’s New in SOLIDWORKS Manage Service Pack 1

The following functionality has been added to SOLIDWORKS Manage Service Pack 1 (Version 14.1.0.08) compared to
Service Pack 0.1(Version 14.0.0.6)
 New property mapping defaults in the PDM object configuration wizard

There are now alternate options for mapping part numbers and description values from SOLIDWORKS PDM files.
The values will be used when the other mapping values are blank.

 BOM Import via Excel

This allows bringing is BOM
information from an Excel file
based on a template that is
defined for each BOM variant.
o This import functionality
does not support multi-
level BOM import.
o The system will only look
for existing records in the
same object.
o If the record does not
exist, then a text line will
be added to the BOM. A
new record will not be
created.
o Text lines can be replaced
 with a record when one is created by using the Replace function available on the right click menu while
editing a BOM variant.

 Thumbnail images

Thumbnail images for SOLIDWORKS PDM files are now created upon check in from SOLIDWORKS. Configuration
specific thumbnails will also be created for configurations that are activated during the SOIDWORKS session and
that are stored as active records. The thumbnails are then visible in various areas of SOLIDWORKS Manage
including the main grid and BOM views.

 SOLIDWORKS Internal component support for SOLIDWORKS PDM Objects

Internal components saved in SOLIDWORKS assemblies and checked into a SOLIDWORKS PDM object are now
recognized and appear in the BOM view in SOLIDWORKS Manage.

 Improved Performance

Performance has been increased when synchronizing SOLIDWORKS PDM objects with large numbers of file and
folders. There is also a new Synchronization dialog that appears when the “Show synchronization steps” is
enabled.

o To enable the Synchronization details dialog, edit a SOLIDWORKS PDM object and navigate to the
Connection page in the wizard an tick the Show synchronization steps checkbox
 New Recent area in default Dashboard and Shortcut areas.

A new Recent list has been added to the My Dashboard area in the Home
module as well as to the Shortcuts area in the right side fly out in the main
user interface. The Recent list provides quick access to recently edited
records.

 Project Deliverable updating in Where Used tab for PDM records.

Previously this tab did not display SOLIDWORKS PDM records that were attached to a project as a deliverable.
 What’s New in SOLIDWORKS Manage Service Pack 2

 Configuration file utility

The configuration file utility (swm.configwizard.exe) has been enhanced to include a test for the license server
connection and the ability to reset the admin password for SOLIDWORKS Manage

o To test the connection to the specified SolidNetWork License Manager, open the Configuration File
Wizard then open a .swmc file. Ensure the license server is specified then click the Test Connection
button. If the test is successful a “success” message will appear. If it is not successful then ensure the
license server name and part are correct and that the license server is running.
o To reset the SOLIDWORKS Manage Admin password- Click on the Reset Admin account password
button. Enter the SQL password then enter a new Admin password. NOTE: This is mainly intended for
technical support for troubleshooting customer databases.

 Change SOLIDWORKS PDM State via a Process Output

It is now possible to change the state of a promoted SOLIDWORKS PDM file via a process output. This enables more
complete control of SOLIDWORKS PDM files that are attached as affected items to a SOLIDWORKS Manage process.
This also enables kicking off SOLIDWORKS PDM file Tasks from SOLIDWORKS Manage.

o To add a PDM state change output to a process, edit an existing process and go to the Workflow
Properties page in the Process Management Wizard.
o Select a stage in the diagram area, and then select the Output node. Click the New button, then select
Change PDM status in the drop down.
o A Change State Output dialog appears. Click the new icon and selected the desired PDM Object,
Workflow, From State and Transition to use from the drop lists. Then click the Save and Close button.
o Add any additional state changes as required for this stage output, then click the Close button in the
Change State Output dialog.
 References folder structure

It is now possible to define a folder structure for organizing References similar to the existing folder structures for
Related files.

o To add Reference folders, edit an object via the Administration tool and navigate to the Related Files
section.
o There is a new References tab next to the Related Files tab. Select the References tab and click on the
New Folder button and enter a name for the new folder. Set any access rights as required
o Add additional folders as needed. Folders can be rearranged by dragging them up or down.

 Performance enhancements

Additional optimizations have been made in calculated fields.

 Update PDM variables

It is now possible to write field values from SOLIDWORKS Manage back to the data card variable in SOLIDWORKS
PDM. This enables the powerful field types available in SOLDIWORKS Manage to drive data into SOLIDWORKS PDM.

o To enable writing to a SOLIDWORKS PDM variable, edit a PDM object with the SOLIDWORKS Manage
Administration tool and navigate to the Fields page of the wizard.
o Edit a SOLIDWORKS PDM variable in the list by selecting it and clicking on the edit button.
 o On the Field Type tab tick the Updates PDM Variable checkbox. The available field types are then
enabled. Select the desired field type and set the required parameters. NOTE: SOLIDWORKS Manage
fields and SOLIDWORKS PDM variables must be of compatible type.

 Custom BOM filed values in Copy From

It is now possible to copy custom field values along with the BOM items from one BOM variant to another when
using the Copy From function for adding items to a BOM. Additionally, if the BOM items already exist then only the
custom field values can be selected for copying. NOTE: The source and target BOM variants must have the same
field names and be of compatible types.
 Rich text in Memo fields

To enable more flexibility in Memo field types, rich text can now be stored into a field value. This allows content like
images and formatted text to appear in the field value cell.

o To enable a Memo field to accept rich text, edit the field in the Administration tool and go to the
Options tab.
o Tick the “Use Rich Text format” checkbox. NOTE: Switching from rich text to plain text will delete any
images or text formatting.
o To add rich text to an enabled memo field, check out and open a record with the enabled Memo field.
Copy an image file from the file system then paste it into the field. Alternatively copying and pasting
from a word processing program is also possible.
o There are text formatting tools available by right mouse button click inside the field.
 What’s New in SOLIDWORKS Manage Service Pack 3

 Linked Record Objects

The new Linked Records functionality provides greater flexibility for customers that want to have separate but
connected items to represent the products they build. Linked records are records in a separate record object in
SOLIDWORKS Manage that have a “Primary Reference” link to a document record. Primary references are
similar to standard references but can drive field values, thumbnail image, BOMs, Related Files, and other
References. Linked records can be checked out and edited without checking out the primary reference. This
allows companies to have file data stored in SOLIDWORKS PDM that is controlled by one group (i.e. Engineering)
available to other groups (i.e. Manufacturing) that do not have rights to modify the file data.

Linked records can be created from the document records in several ways and can be created independently
before a document record exists or is approved. In this case no primary reference would exist and could be
added later if needed.

Linked records are similar in concept to SOLIDWORKS PDM Items but with much more capabilities.

Configuring Linked Records

Linked records are configured in the specific Document object that is going to provide the primary reference to
the linked record. At least one document object and one record object are required to configure linked records.
A document object can only be linked to a single record object. However, multiple document objects can be
linked to a single record object.

For a SOLIDWORKS PDM Document object the configuration is accessed via a new page in the wizard. For
standard document objects there is a new tab added to the end of the existing tabs.

The following section describes the configuration in a SOLIDWORKS PDM document object. Configuration in a
standard document object is similar. The configuration is done via a wizard interface
Linked Record Object Selection

 Choose the record object that

will be linked to the document
object.
 Choose what Lifecycle status new
records created from document
records will have.

Field Mapping

 This page defines what fields

from the document object (first
column) will update fields from
the document object. Values
only go from the document to
the record object. If field values
in the document record change
after the initial creation of the
linked record, updates can be
done by the user but and are not
automatic. NOTE: Field types
must be compatible. For
 example text from a document could not be pushed to a data in a linked object record.
 Choose the desired record field in the second column by clicking in the cell next to the document field in
the first column.
 Choose the update method for the field in the third column by clicking in the cell next to the record field
in the second column. The choices are:
o Blank-no update will occur
o Default if empty-This will use the default value, if configured, for the record object field if the
document object field is empty.
o Always- This will always use the value from the document object field even if it is empty.
 Other available controls
o Auto map- which will look for identical field names in the document and record objects then
automatically select the matching record object field.
o Update Always- Will set all update methods to Always
o Use Default if empty- Will set all update methods to Default if empty
o Clear- Clears all values

Related and Reference File mapping

 This page defines if any of the

document record’s Related
files should be copied to the
linked record and if any of the
document record’s References
should also be linked to the
linked record. This is a
onetime event when the
linked record is created from
the document record.
Subsequent changes to the
document record’s Related
files or References cannot be
updated automatically. NOTE:
Is not recommended to copy
the primary file from the document record. This will create another copy of the file in the linked record
and will not be updated.
 Choose the record object’s Related file folder by clicking in the cell in the second column next to the
document record folder in the first column, that will receive the files from the document record
 Choose the record object’s Reference folder by clicking in the cell in the second column next to the
document record folder in the first column that will receive the references from the document record.
BOM mapping options

 This page allows the mapping

of BOM variants between the
document object and the
linked record object. Contents
of the primary file’s BOM
variants can be copied to the
linked records BOM variants.
In addition data stored in BOM
only fields can be copied over
from the document record to
the linked record. The filed
names can be different but
the field types need to be
similar.
 For each document object
BOM variant that is to be copied, choose the linked record object’s BOM variant that will receive the
data by clicking the cell in the second column next to the document object’s BOM variant in the first
column.
 Choose the custom BOM filed name for the linked record object by first selecting the BOM variant in the
left side of the page, then the clicking the cell in the second column next to the document object’s
custom field name in the right side of the page.

Field Group options

 This page provides a way to

map field groups from the
document object to the linked
record object.
 Choose the linked record
object’s field group by clicking
the cell in the second column
next to the desired document
object field group in the first
column.

Numbering Scheme options

 This page provides options for the part number value assigned to a new linked object record created
from a document record. New records created in the linked record object, those without a primary
reference, will use the numbering scheme defined for that object.
 There are three options available for establishing the part number for linked records:
 o Create New Record Number-This option uses the numbering scheme defined for the record object
and does not use any value from the document object record.
o Use Document Number- This option uses the part number from the document object record and
has secondary options for replacing existing strings with predefined strings.
o Combine Numbering
Schemes- This option will
combine the part number
from the document object
record and the numbering
scheme from the linked
record object. There are
secondary options for
which number comes first
in the value and if a
delimiter between the
values is desired.

Creating Linked Records

The following section describes the various ways for creating linked records. As mentioned above, linked
records can be created directly from and document record or can be created independently then linked to a
document record at a later time.

 Create single- From within the main

grid of a document object that has
been configured for linked records,
right click on a record and choose the
Records fly out menu then choose
Create Linked Records. A new linked
record will be created in the linked
record object. The linked record
number will also appear in a column
named Linked Records. This is an
object type field which allows accessing
the linked record’s property card by
double clicking on the value.
Conversely, when viewing the linked
record object, a column named Primary
Reference displays the primary reference as an object type field

 Create with Wizard- From within the main grid of a document object that has been configured for linked
records, right click on a record and choose the Records fly out menu then choose Create Linked Records
with Wizard… . This will open a wizard that provides additional options for creating linked records
o Create Link Records-This page shows the selected document object record and any children from
the selected BOM variant. Selecting an individual row in the left side (Documents) of the page, will
display the field values that will be used for the linked record in the right side (Linked Record
 Properties). If a linked record already exists for a document object, its part number is displayed in
the Linked Records column. NOTE: In this release all children are selected. In a future release, only
the children that do not have an existing linked record will be automatically selected.
o Once all the desired selections and inputs have been made, click on the Create Linked Records(s)
button. NOTE: Once this button is clicked the linked records will be created. Closing the wizard will
not delete the records.
o The status of each linked
record will display in the
Status column. If a record
was successfully created
the word “Done!” will be
shown and the cell will be
highlighted in green. If
there were any failures, for
instance if a required value
was missing, the word
“Failed” will be displayed
and the cell will be
highlighted in red.

o Create BOM structures of Linked Records –This page allows the creation of a BOM consisting of the
newly created linked records. To create the BOM, select the record in the left side of the page and
click the Create BOMs button at the top. To see the records in the BOM variant in the right side of
the page, re-select the record in the left side. If further edits to the BOM variants of the linked
record are needed, they can be performed in this page by clicking the Edit button. The editing tools
are available in the right click menu.
  Process output creation

Linked records can also be created via a process output.

This method will create linked record for document objects
attached to the process and uses the automated creation
method (no wizard). If an attached document record does
not have a linked record object configured, then no record
will be created but the process will still continue.

 Create record first- Using this method, records can be created in the linked record object first, then later have a
primary file attached as a reference. This allows a top down
approach to build a product structure and doesn’t require
files. Some records may never have a primary reference.
o To add a document record as a primary reference
to an existing record, simply add the reference per
normal methods. To set or remove a document
record as the primary reference, right click on the
reference and select Set/Remove as Primary
Reference.
o Primary references are shown in bold text and
display “Yes” in the Primary column

 Duplicate BOM line items

This enables adding a duplicate row to a

BOM so alternate custom BOM field
values properties can be assigned to the
new line. For example, if the CAD BOM
has a quantity of 4 for a generic bolt but
two of them need to have a different
finish, single line item for the bolt can be
duplicated and the finish information
added via custom BOM fields. Use of the
Manual Quantity column may be
necessary to ensure the total number
remains the same. To access the
duplicate line item functionality it must
be enabled for each BOM variant in the
Administration tool

o To enable the functionality, open the Administration tool or right click on an object in the main user
interface and select Tools>Administration. Then go the BOM or Bill of Materials section of the object
and select an existing BOM variant or create a new one. Click the Other Options tab and tick the check
box for Allow duplicate part numbers. The click Save and Close
 o To add a duplicate line item, edit a BOM variant and right click on the line item to be duplicated and
select Duplicate line from the menu

 Bill of Material Performance

To improve the BOM display performance for BOMs with thousands of line items, administrators can set how
many BOM levels are loaded when a user first clicks on the BOM tab of a record. There are separate level
settings for viewing and editing and users can set their own preferences.
o To set the system display levels, open the Administration tool and select the Advanced section, then
select the General node. Select the General tab and at the bottom of the page choose the desired
settings.

o To change the user display level preference, click the Tools dropdown menu from within a BOM view,
then select the Number of levels to display fly out menu. Next select the mode to change then the
number of levels. This setting is then used for all BOM views for that user.
 Auto Number Enhancements

Splitting

To facilitate easier reading of AutoNumbers with that have many digits, the number can be split and a delimiter
added if desired. Splitting only changes what the users sees, the number remains the same in the system.
 To split an Auto Number, open the Administration tool and select the Advanced section, then select the
Numbering Schemes node. Create a new number numbering scheme and add an AutoNumber or edit
an existing numbering scheme. Edit the auto number and tick the Split AutoNumber check box then
click the Configure button.
 Click the add icon and type a delimiter in the first column (if desired) then in the second column
enter the position of the split from the left of the AutoNumber. Add addition splits as needed. NOTE:
Changing an existing numbering scheme will only apply to new records, existing records will not be
affected.
 Disable auto increment on Copy From

When a new record is created from an existing one using the Copy From option, it may be desirable to keep the
AutoNumber from incrementing when another field is used in the full part number which still results in a unique
number.

 To set the default behavior, open the Administration tool or right click on an object in the main user
interface and select Tools>Administration. Click on the Structures area then select the Documents and
Records node. Next edit the desired object then go the Fields section of the object and select the Field
Groups… button. Edit an existing Field Group or create a new one. Click the Other Options tab and tick
the check box for Do not increment AutoNumber by default. The click Save and Close.
 Currently this is not enabled for SOLIDWORKS PDM objects

 BOM Tab Content Indicator

To let users know if a BOM variant has any line items, the BOM variant tab icon changes to show a red bar
across the top. BOM variants that are empty display the previous all blue icon.

 Configuration part number option

When virtual configurations are created or when inactive
configurations are made active, there is a new part
number option that combines the parent record’s part
number with a user entered string. This allows the
configuration records to be easily associated with their
parent records.

 Project Enhancements
Split stages in projects
It is now possible to split projects stages. This can provide a more realistic view of the amount of work required
to complete a stage and the start and completion dates. For example if a stage has 40 hours of work to
complete but has a two week gap when work will not be done, the stage can be split into two 20 hour sections
with an 80 hour (two weeks) split. Without a split, this stage would cover three weeks, or 120 hours, and would
appear to have a completion of 17% if 20 hours of work was completed (20/120). With the split, the completion
would show at 50% (20/40).
 To create a stage split, open and check out a project or create a new project. Select the Planning tab
and select a stage where the split will be inserted. Then either right click on the stage or select Split
Stage in the Move/Indent section of the Planning tool bar.
 Click the button then enter a value (in hours) of where from the beginning of the stage the split will
start in the Position column and the duration of the split in the Length column. Click Apply to see the
split.
 Additional splits can be inserted by clicking the Add button again or existing splits can be removed by
selecting the split and clicking the button. There is also an example graphic available by clicking on
the Show example button.

Hours for working days

The working hours of each week day can be set including Saturdays and Sundays. This will be used in calculating
the time required to complete a stage based on the time required from all the tasks within it. For example if
four working hours are entered for Saturday and eight hours for Monday-Friday then 44 hours of tasks will be
able to be completed each week. Working hours can
be set at the system level and modified subsequently
for each project. Previously only the working days
could be selected and defaulted to eight hours per
day.
 To set the default working hours for all new
projects open the Administration tool or right
click on the Projects object in the main user
interface and select Tools>Administration.
Click on the Structures area then select the
Projects node. Go to the new Working hours
page that has been added to the Project
Management Wizard and set the hours as
 desired. NOTE: Changing the system working hours will not affect existing projects.
 To change the working hours for existing projects, open and check out an existing project. Select the
Planning node to display to Gantt chart and the click on the Options… menu item in the Planning tool
bar. Set the hours as desired then click Save. A message will appear notifying the user that the project
will be updated.

 Inactive configuration handling in Processes

Inactive configurations are now automatically hidden when adding the parent record to a process. Previously
all configurations were added to the process.

 Object type hyperlinks

It is now possible to choose a particular record from an object type field if multiple records are present.
Previously, doubling clicking on the record hyperlinks in an object type field would not result in opening of any
records. Now the user is presented with a dialog that lets them choose the record to open. The selection dialog
stays open until it is closed to allow the user to open other records in the list.

 Property Card BOM View Details

A new fly-out pane has been added when viewing a BOM in a property card. This fly out can be used to display
details about the selected BOM line item including status, field values (properties), and references. In addition there
is a preview pane and a search pane.

 To enable the fly-out pane, open the property card of record that the BOM tab enabled and that has a
BOM variant defined.
 Select the BOM node on the left side of the property card, and then click on the left pointing arrow
button at the top right of the property card dialog to expand the fly-out pane.
 Select a line item in the displayed BOM variant and its details will appear in the fly-out.
 The fly-out pane has three main sections organized across the top of the pane. These are:
 Properties: This section displays and References to other records, the thumbnail (if available),
the records status information and its properties. If a reference is selected then the properties
displayed will be for the reference.
 Preview: This section displays a preview of either the selected BOM item or a selected
reference document (preview not available for record objects) of the selected BOM item.
 Search: This section enables searching for items that can be added to the BOM while in BOM
edit mode.