Figure 4­55 The Conflicting Relations/Dimensions rollout

You need to delete the relation or dimension displayed in red to make sure that
the sketch is no longer overdefined. When the sketch is no longer overdefined,
the Message rollout in the SketchXpert PropertyManager will inform you that
The sketch can now find a valid solution. Choose OK from the SketchXpert
PropertyManager; the sketch will be displayed in black or blue, depending on
the current state of the sketch. Note that if you select the Always open this
dialog box when sketch error occurs check box in the More
Informations/Options rollout of the SketchXpert PropertyManager, the
SketchXpert PropertyManager will be displayed automatically when a sketch
is overdefined.
You can also prevent the sketch from being overdefined by choosing the Cancel
button from the Make Dimension Driven? message box. If you choose Cancel
from the Make Dimension Driven? message box, the SOLIDWORKS
information dialog box will be displayed with a message that The sketch is no
longer over defined.
Displaying and Deleting Relations
CommandManager: Sketch > Display/Delete Relations flyout > Display/Delete
Relations SOLIDWORKS menus: Tools > Relations > Display/Delete
Toolbar: Sketch > Display/Delete Relations flyout > Display/Delete Relations
If a sketch is overdefined after adding dimensions and relations, you need to
delete some of the overdefining, dangling, or unsolved relations or dimensions.
You can view and delete the relations applied to a sketch by using the
Display/Delete Relations PropertyManager. To invoke this PropertyManager,
choose the Display/Delete Relations button from the Sketch
CommandManager. Alternatively, right­click in the drawing area when the
sketched entities are selected; a shortcut menu will be displayed. Choose the
Display/Delete Relations option from it. On doing so, the Display/Delete
Relations PropertyManager will be displayed, as shown in Figure 4­56. The
rollouts in this PropertyManager are discussed next.
Figure 4­56 The Display/Delete Relations PropertyManager
Relations Rollout
The Relations rollout is used to check, delete, and suppress the unwanted and
conflicting relations. The status of the sketch or the selected entity is displayed
below the Relations list in this rollout. The options in this rollout are discussed
next.
Filter
The Filter drop­down list is used to select the filter to display the relations in
this rollout. The options in the Filter drop­down list are discussed next.

All in this sketch: This option is used to display all relations applied to a
sketch. The first relation displayed in the list will be selected by default and it
will appear in a blue background. The status of the selected relations is
displayed below the list box in the Relations rollout. The overdefined
relations are highlighted in yellowish green. If you select a relation highlighted
in yellowish green in the Relations rollout, the status of the selected relation
will be displayed as Over Defining. The dangling relation is highlighted in
brownish green. When you select the dangling relation, the status of the
relation will be displayed as Dangling below the Relations list. Similarly, the
not solved relation will be highlighted in yellow and the driven relation in
gray.

Dangling: This option is used to display only the dangling relations applied to
the sketch.

Overdefining/Not Solved: This option is used to display only the

overdefining and not solved relations. The dangling relations are also not
solved relations. Therefore, they will also be displayed in the list box.

External: This option is used to display the relations that have a reference
with an entity outside the sketch. This entity can be an edge, vertex, or origin
within the same model or it can be an edge, vertex, or origin of different
models within an assembly.

Defined In Context: This option is used to display only the relations that are
in the context of a design. They are the relations between the sketched entity
in one part and an entity in another part. These relations are defined while
working with the top­down assemblies.

Locked: This option is used to display only the locked relations.

Broken: This option is used to display only the broken relations.

Note
The Locked and Broken relations are applied while creating a part within the
assembly environment. You will learn more about creating parts within an
assembly in the later chapters.

Selected Entities. This option is used to display the relations of only the
selected set of entities. When you select this option from the Filter drop­down
list, the Selected Entities selection box will be displayed in the Relations
rollout. When you select an entity to display the relations, the name of the
selected entity will be displayed in the Selected Entities selection box and the
relations applied to this entity will be displayed in the Relations rollout. To
remove the selected entity from the selection set, select it and then right­click
to display the shortcut menu. Next, choose the Delete option from the shortcut
menu. If you choose the Clear Selections option, all entities will be removed
from the selection set.
Suppressed
The Suppressed check box is selected to suppress the selected relation. When
you suppress a relation, it will be displayed in gray in the list box. The status
of the suppress relation will be displayed as Satisfied or Driven in the
information area. If you suppress the overdefining dimensions, the
SOLIDWORKS message box will be displayed with a message that The
sketch is no longer over defined. Choose the OK button from this dialog
box.
Delete
The Delete button is used to delete the relation selected in the Relations
rollout.
Delete All
The Delete All button is used to delete all relations displayed in the Relations
rollout.
Undo last relation change
The Undo last relation change button is used to undo the action performed
by using the Delete, Replace, or Suppressed option earlier. The Replace
option is discussed later in this chapter.
Entities Rollout
The Entities rollout is used to display the entities to which the selected relation
is referred. This rollout is also used to display the status of the selected relation
and the external reference, if any. By default, the Entities rollout is collapsed.
You can expand this rollout by clicking on the down arrow displayed on the
right of this rollout, refer to Figure 4­57. The options in this rollout are discussed
next.

Figure 4­57 The Entities rollout

Entities used in the selected relation The Entities used in the selected
relation area is used to display the information about the entities used in the
selected relation. This area provides the information about the name of the
entity, its status, and the place it is defined. This area is divided into three
columns, which are discussed next.

Entity: The Entity column is used to display the entity or entities to which the
selected relation is applied.

Status: The Status column is used to display the status of the selected
 relation. The status can be Fully Defined, Dangling, Over Defined, or Not
Solved.

Defined In: The Defined In column is used to display the position of the
entity. On the basis of placement, the entity can be defined as Current
Sketch, Same Model, or External Model in the Defined In column.

The Current Sketch option is displayed in the Defined In column when the
entity is positioned in the same sketch. The Same Model option is displayed
in the Defined In column when the entity to be referenced is placed in the
same model but is not a part of the current sketch. The entity can be an edge,
vertex, or origin of the same model. The External Model option is displayed
in the Defined In column when the entity is placed in some other model, but
within the same assembly. In this case, the entity will again be an edge, vertex,
or origin of some other model of same assembly.

Tip 1. If an entity is dimensioned, you cannot change its dimensions by dragging

its keypoints. To change the dimensions of a dimensioned entity by dragging,
choose Tools > Sketch Settings from the SOLIDWORKS menus and select the
Override Dims on Drag/Move option.

2. By default, the Automatic Solve option is selected from the Tools > Sketch
Settings menu in the SOLIDWORKS menus. This option helps you solve the
relations and dimensions automatically when you drag or modify a sketched
entity. If you clear this option and drag an entity, a message box will be
displayed informing you that the sketch cannot be dragged because the
Automatic Solve mode is off. It will further inform you that to drag the sketch,
please turn the Automatic Solve mode on. If you modify the dimension value
using the Modify dialog box, the dimension will not be updated automatically,
and you have to update the new dimension manually. To update and solve the
dimension, you need to choose the Rebuild button from the Menu Bar or press
CTRL+B on the keyboard.
Entity
The Entity display box is used to display the name of the entity and the name
of the part in which the selected entity is placed. This entity is selected in the
Entity column of the Entities used in the selected relation area. The selected
entity is also highlighted in the drawing area.
Owner
The Owner display box is used to display the name of the model in which the
entity is placed when the External Model option is displayed in the Defined
In column.
Assembly
The Assembly display box is used to display the path of the assembly in
which the entity is placed when the External Model option is displayed in the
Defined In column.
 Replace
The Replace button is used to replace the selected entity from the Entity
column with some other entity from the drawing area. When you select the
entity from the drawing area, the entity will be displayed in the Entity to
replace the one selected above display box available on the right of the
Replace button. Choose the Replace button to replace the entity. If the sketch
is overdefined, a warning message will be displayed. Sometimes after
replacing the entity, the status of the entity is changed to not solved or
overdefining. In such cases, you need to undo the last operation.

Tip By default, the relations applied to the sketched entities are displayed when
you draw them or apply a relation to them. Therefore, sometimes the sketch
looks cluttered as all the relations concerned with the sketch are displayed. To
turn off the display of these relations, choose Hide/Show Items > View Sketch
Relations from the View (Heads­Up) toolbar. As it is a toggle button, you can
choose this button again to turn on the display of these relations.
OPENING AN EXISTING FILE
Menu Bar: Open SOLIDWORKS menus: File > Open You can open an
existing SOLIDWORKS part, assembly, or drawing document by using the
Open dialog box. You can also use this dialog box to import files from other
applications saved in some standard file formats. To invoke this dialog box,
choose the Open button from the Menu Bar, or press the CTRL+O keys.
Figure 4­58 shows the Open dialog box. The options in this dialog box are
discussed next.
Figure 4­58 The Open dialog box
Address Bar
The Address bar drop­down list is used to specify the drive or directory in
which the file is saved. The location of the file and the folder that you browse is
displayed in this drop­down list.
File name
The name of the selected file is displayed in the File name edit box. You can
also enter the name of the file to open in this edit box.

Type Drop­Down List

The Type drop­down list is used to specify the type of file to open. You can use
this drop­down list to select a particular type of file such as the part file,
assembly file, drawing file, all SOLIDWORKS files, and so on. You can also
define the standard file format in this drop­down list to import the files saved in
those file formats.

Open Read­Only
The Open Read­Only option is selected to open a document as a read­only file.
This option is available in the flyout that will be displayed on choosing the down
arrow on the right of the Open button. If you modify the design in a read­only
file, the changes will be saved in a new file, and the original file will not be
modified. This option also allows other users to access the document while it is
open on your computer.

Mode Drop­Down List

The options available in the Mode drop­down list are used to open various
assemblies in different modes. These options are discussed next.
Resolved
The Resolved option is used to resolve all the unsolved components.
Lightweight
If a large assembly is opened by selecting this option, the assembly will rebuild
faster as less data is evaluated when an operation is performed.
Large Assembly Mode
If an assembly contains number of components more than that is specified in the
respective spinner of the System Options ­ Assemblies dialog box, select this
option to open the assembly as large assembly. On opening the assembly in this
mode, some of the display options are automatically disabled to increase the
performance of the assembly.
Large Design Review
If an assembly contains number of components more than that is specified in the
respective spinner of the System Options ­ Assemblies dialog box, select this
option to open and review the assembly in large assembly mode.
Quick view
The Quick view option is selected to open an assembly in a view­only format.
When you open a view­only file, only the tools related to viewing the model will
be enabled. However, if you want to edit the assembly, right­click in the drawing
area and choose the Edit option from the shortcut menu; all tools will be
available to edit the design.
Configurations
The configurations available in the selected file are displayed in this drop­down
list. Select the required configuration from this drop­down list.
References
The References button is used to check the references of an assembly or a
drawing.
Quick Filter
There are four different buttons in this area that are used for filtering the file
types that are frequently used in SOLIDWORKS. These buttons are discussed
next.
Filter Parts
The Filter Parts button is used to filter the part files that are in the .sldprt or .prt
file format. On choosing this button, the Type drop­down list will be set to part
(.prt;*.sldprt) file format. The files which are in this format will be displayed in
the Document Library area of the Open dialog box.