Search found 56 matches

by colt
Sat Jun 22, 2024 7:39 pm
Forum: 2D Drawings
Topic: updating general table calculations that has hidden columns
Replies: 3
Views: 970

Re: updating general table calculations that has hidden columns

Thanks for suggestions. The table method has been working, I setup autohide code in my pdf export macro if the tablename = massTable. mgibeault Using the bom looked promising, I was able to do the same calculations and precision changes, then I linked my note to the bom cells using the 'link table c...
by colt
Thu Jun 13, 2024 12:46 pm
Forum: 2D Drawings
Topic: updating general table calculations that has hidden columns
Replies: 3
Views: 970

updating general table calculations that has hidden columns

My end goal is to create a rebuildable note that contains formatted assembly mass and cg dimension values. I have successfully created this note using a general table. works.jpg I just hide all the unused rows and columns and end up with this tidy result good.jpg Where I am having trouble is with th...
by colt
Fri Apr 05, 2024 11:36 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: Face based assembly symmetry check.
Replies: 0
Views: 1428

Face based assembly symmetry check.

Hello, I am on sw2018 I have an assembly with about 300 parts and want to check if it is fully symmetric about the center plane. My first attempt was to run a basic assembly level symmetry check. This did not meet my needs because if a symmetrical part had its symmetry plane coincident with the symm...
by colt
Thu Dec 14, 2023 2:32 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: Solidworks Smart Mates for Dowel Pin on Blind Hole
Replies: 1
Views: 943

Re: Solidworks Smart Mates for Dowel Pin on Blind Hole

You can use a face mate reference if you edit the chamfer of the dowel to 31° so as to match the angle of the cone. Of course the depth will be slightly off...

materef.jpg
by colt
Tue May 09, 2023 5:12 pm
Forum: API
Topic: Global apperance replacement.
Replies: 0
Views: 1809

Global apperance replacement.

This is a little script that recursively replaces the model appearances of the active document with that of the p2m file of the same name. It will not replace textures. I created this so that my models are guaranteed to have one material for every appearance p2m file when exported using the Free_Sol...
by colt
Thu Feb 23, 2023 12:14 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: Enable speedpak graphics circle
Replies: 0
Views: 973

Enable speedpak graphics circle

For anyone else struggling to get the speedpak graphics circle to show up. I noticed that the system option was disabled and changing the setting under [view>display>display speedpak graphics circle] had no effect. On the old forum there was a post that mentioned this was a symptom of unsupported gr...
by colt
Wed Nov 16, 2022 9:47 am
Forum: API
Topic: using openDoc6 browse for missing file.
Replies: 4
Views: 1129

Re: using openDoc6 browse for missing file.

Hmmm, when I use -1 it opens the document as [Viewing] [Read-only]. When Empty it loads as if I had the silent option. I made sure to allow all dismissed messages in options. I am on 2018, so maybe it works in newer versions.
by colt
Tue Nov 15, 2022 6:31 pm
Forum: API
Topic: using openDoc6 browse for missing file.
Replies: 4
Views: 1129

Re: using openDoc6 browse for missing file.

Whoops, I had this question open in another tab. Must have submitted by accident without giving all info. Was trying to get this dialog when a referenced part is missing from the drawing dialog.jpg using this code Dim swApp As Object Sub main() Set swApp = Application.SldWorks Dim err As Long Dim wa...
by colt
Tue Nov 15, 2022 5:12 pm
Forum: API
Topic: using openDoc6 browse for missing file.
Replies: 4
Views: 1129

using openDoc6 browse for missing file.

How can I trigger the browse for file popup if using openDoc6?
by colt
Sat Jul 16, 2022 2:47 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: What are your most impressive tricks of Solidworks
Replies: 162
Views: 90219

Re: What are your most impressive tricks of Solidworks

Doing assembly cut "up to surface". This one is hidden unless you know the trick for parts: double clicking on a surface will select the end condition of "up to surface". I don't think this is technically supported because there is no formal item in end condition dropdown menu. D...
by colt
Thu Jul 07, 2022 4:30 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: Drawing performance new versions
Replies: 13
Views: 2210

Re: Drawing performance new versions

Thank you for sharing your computer specs. My pc is not as powerful in the cpu, but is similar. There must be something wrong with my install. I opened up a brand new drawing and put in a text box. Just having the textbox activated ready for typing causes solidworks to max out a core. This is true e...
by colt
Fri Jun 03, 2022 1:47 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: Drawing performance new versions
Replies: 13
Views: 2210

Drawing performance new versions

How has performance improved in the newer versions? I use envelopes and section views fairly often, but have noticed that they tank performance on drawings. Zooming and panning the drawing, adding notes, or typing text will max out one core at 4.5 ghz. Is this normal? I am hopeful about the new deta...
by colt
Tue May 31, 2022 5:27 pm
Forum: API
Topic: How does one use swCenterMarkConnectionLine_e Enumeration?
Replies: 1
Views: 1020

Re: How does one use swCenterMarkConnectionLine_e Enumeration?

Not sure if it is a setting, but might only be available while performing an auto insert... https://help.solidworks.com/2017/English/api/sldworksapi/SolidWorks.Interop.sldworks~SolidWorks.Interop.sldworks.IView~AutoInsertCenterMarks2.html Add together the options you want from swCenterMarkConnection...
by colt
Thu May 19, 2022 11:27 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: solidworks cant find macro
Replies: 3
Views: 788

Re: solidworks cant find macro

I was mistaken. Today I got the popup and it was unable to find the macro. It is looking in the wrong place. It has reverted to looking in the solidworks install folder instead of my macro folder that I set in file locations. I found where I think it stores the full path to the macro files but every...
by colt
Thu May 19, 2022 10:28 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: solidworks cant find macro
Replies: 3
Views: 788

Re: solidworks cant find macro

Interesting. Did that automatically fix it for you or did you have to reassign?
by colt
Thu May 19, 2022 10:00 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: solidworks cant find macro
Replies: 3
Views: 788

solidworks cant find macro

Solidworks says it can't find my macro at "x" file path. The macro is at "x" file path. I have to reassign the macro to my hotkey every time this happens. It seems to happen at random intervals (months). It seems to be able to find about 50% of my assigned macros. Anyone else had...
by colt
Mon May 16, 2022 12:59 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: trimming profile of extrude thin error
Replies: 6
Views: 807

Re: trimming profile of extrude thin error

Glenn Schroeder wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 12:36 pm I'm confused.
Yeah sorry, I attached the wrong version of the part. The one I attached was after I replaced one half the profile just to try to get rebuild.

@AlexLachance That would get the job done. For my case, I would rather keep it self contained to one feature.
by colt
Mon May 16, 2022 12:30 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: "Link to external file" variables .txt files are crosstalking
Replies: 3
Views: 679

Re: "Link to external file" variables .txt files are crosstalking

If you are still having this problem you could match file modified times. Use last modified of the variables.txt. Then perform a windows search for assembly or part that was modified at the same time. Example search: datemodified:‎5/‎13/‎2022 ext:.sldasm other ways to narrow the search -> https://do...
by colt
Mon May 16, 2022 12:12 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: trimming profile of extrude thin error
Replies: 6
Views: 807

trimming profile of extrude thin error

I have a simple extrude thin that I want to split into two bodies. BEFORE TRIM.JPG I perform the trim. The preview is there. TRIM.JPG I get this error. ERROR.jpg Deleting the extrude and recreating does not solve the error, so the problem lies in the sketch. I was able to get a rebuild if I fully de...
by colt
Mon May 02, 2022 3:49 pm
Forum: API
Topic: select bom row
Replies: 2
Views: 910

select bom row

I have macro that makes sure every item in the bom is ballooned. I want to select the rows in my bom containing the unballooned parts. This will cause the parts to be highlighted in the drawing viewport. Is there such a command to do this? Or is there a better way to highlight the parts in the drawi...
by colt
Tue Apr 05, 2022 10:29 am
Forum: SW General
Topic: auto closing popup
Replies: 2
Views: 514

Re: auto closing popup

That sounds like it could get me into trouble, I don't think I want to allow multiple contexts. Do you know how solidworks would deal with the "edit in context" menu command with that option enabled?
by colt
Tue Apr 05, 2022 10:16 am
Forum: SW General
Topic: auto closing popup
Replies: 2
Views: 514

auto closing popup

Is it possible to auto close this popup? I understand what I am doing and do not need to be notified every time I move my mouse 1 pixel. Capture.PNG I saw this macro where they seem to be operating on the solidworks gui rather than native api calls. https://www.codestack.net/solidworks-api/document/...
by colt
Thu Feb 10, 2022 4:26 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: What feature should I use in this situation?
Replies: 6
Views: 1337

Re: What feature should I use in this situation?

I ended up going with a combo of your suggestions. I used a 3d sketch to create a surface sweep and then a cut with surface. The result looks great. Thanks everyone for your ideas.
by colt
Thu Feb 10, 2022 11:10 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: What feature should I use in this situation?
Replies: 6
Views: 1337

Re: What feature should I use in this situation?

Why do you say that the flex feature destroys your model tree? In my real part I have a lot of other features that are constructed on top of a boss extrude. If I were to replace the boss with the flex then all those features would need to be redone. If there were an easy way to apply it at the end ...
by colt
Thu Feb 10, 2022 10:37 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: What feature should I use in this situation?
Replies: 6
Views: 1337

What feature should I use in this situation?

I have an existing part that I made using my standard methods. Now I want to remove material from the top surface to make it more streamlined. However, the only way I can think to generate this geometry is to use the flex command. This is not an option because it would destroy my model tree. Below i...
by colt
Wed Feb 02, 2022 4:45 pm
Forum: SW General
Topic: replacing component auto filter is reversed
Replies: 1
Views: 347

replacing component auto filter is reversed

Maybe I have lost it, but I thought that when replacing a component the filter in the explorer window would default to the extension of the component being replaced. Somehow mine has gotten flipped. Replacing a .sldprt defaults filter to *.sldasm and replacing assembly defaults to *.sldprt Changing ...
by colt
Tue Nov 16, 2021 12:40 pm
Forum: API
Topic: get and set state of rotate about scene floor
Replies: 1
Views: 1490

get and set state of rotate about scene floor

I am trying to make a macro that will rotate my model about each axis. So far I have it working with the following code. Eventually each axis will be assigned its own hotkey so I can nudge the rotation of my model with high precision. Dim swApp As SldWorks.SldWorks Dim swModel As SldWorks.ModelDoc2 ...
by colt
Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:52 pm
Forum: API
Topic: determine how a dimension is configured
Replies: 2
Views: 734

Re: determine how a dimension is configured

Maybe I used it wrong, but getValue3 function returned an empty value for me instead of the expected array. Tried setting "Config_name" to empty as well as the name of my derived config. I did get a result when I used swInConfigurationOpts_e.swThisConfiguration. Instead I was able to test ...
by colt
Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:26 pm
Forum: API
Topic: determine how a dimension is configured
Replies: 2
Views: 734

determine how a dimension is configured

I have a part with multiple derived configurations. I sometimes make the mistake of editing dims inside the derived config thinking I am in the parent. I want to make a macro that will check that all dimensions in my derived config are linked to the parent config. So far I am able to check if the di...
by colt
Thu Oct 28, 2021 10:54 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: Define Assembly Axis coincident with Center Of Mass
Replies: 16
Views: 3422

Re: Define Assembly Axis coincident with Center Of Mass

Another way is to create massless part that you can mate to the cg. Then you can mate to that object. It seems to follow the cg accurately on rebuild.
Capture.PNG
by colt
Mon Oct 25, 2021 4:31 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: how to stay in camera view while editing?
Replies: 8
Views: 1053

Re: how to stay in camera view while editing?

Did not seem to change the behavior. Thanks all for looking at this.
by colt
Mon Oct 25, 2021 4:04 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: how to stay in camera view while editing?
Replies: 8
Views: 1053

Re: how to stay in camera view while editing?

I set my scene background to a photo that was taken by the customer. I then created a camera and positioned it so that my model's perspective and scale match that of the scene background. Now if it was possible to edit the model while inside the camera I could simply drag surfaces and edges around u...
by colt
Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:48 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: how to stay in camera view while editing?
Replies: 8
Views: 1053

Re: how to stay in camera view while editing?

I found a workaround that requires making an assembly to house a camera and your actual working assembly. Then you can open your subassembly in another window to perform edits and it will not pop out of the camera in the top level assembly while also showing edits on rebuild.
by colt
Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:21 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: how to stay in camera view while editing?
Replies: 8
Views: 1053

how to stay in camera view while editing?

I want to edit my model while in camera view. It keeps popping me out of the camera every time I try to change geometry. I've tried using multiple viewports & multiple windows. I would even be happy if it reactivated the camera view after the edit was complete.

Anyone figured this out?
by colt
Tue Oct 05, 2021 1:36 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: controlling sketch picture in configed part
Replies: 8
Views: 1350

Re: controlling sketch picture in configed part

In the video I was hitting ctl-q before hitting rebuild button. I do not have approved graphics card so that could be a factor. Saving and reopening the assembly still shows the pictures in same locations. My part had 20 configs so I ended up making a separate part in the assembly to house my sketch...
by colt
Tue Oct 05, 2021 12:25 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: controlling sketch picture in configed part
Replies: 8
Views: 1350

Re: controlling sketch picture in configed part

@mattpeneguy I downsampled my video to 1920x1080 and created gif using ffmpeg but it was still massive. I will look into screen to gif. So the only way to embed mp4 would to be to upload on another site and then point the media element to url?
by colt
Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:32 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: controlling sketch picture in configed part
Replies: 8
Views: 1350

Re: controlling sketch picture in configed part

Thanks for the help. dpihlaja I have the same exact version and only lose synchronization when I edit the sketch picture from the context of different configs. It was very confusing as I was not expecting it. The gif takes a while to load out.gif Side question, is it possible to embed mp4 in viewer?
by colt
Mon Oct 04, 2021 12:38 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: controlling sketch picture in configed part
Replies: 8
Views: 1350

controlling sketch picture in configed part

Today I found out that a sketch picture's position, scale, and rotation are automatically configured. Anyone know how to control this or force all configs to have the same picture parameters?
configedSketchPic.JPG
by colt
Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:18 am
Forum: SW General
Topic: Losing virtual components?
Replies: 13
Views: 4147

Re: Losing virtual components?

When I need to lose virtual components I found the quickest way is to utilize multiple assemblies. Converting an assembly to virtual that contains virtual components itself is a pretty sure bet. I am able to do it in 2018 without a restart using the technique below.

by colt
Wed Aug 18, 2021 3:40 pm
Forum: API
Topic: using GetPackAndGo in autohotkey
Replies: 4
Views: 1199

Re: using GetPackAndGo in autohotkey

Yeah, that still throws the same error.
by colt
Wed Aug 18, 2021 11:44 am
Forum: API
Topic: using GetPackAndGo in autohotkey
Replies: 4
Views: 1199

Re: using GetPackAndGo in autohotkey

Good info, thanks for the warning. It is too bad because the gui pack and go does everything I need it is just way to clunky and slow. My ultimate goal was to use the swDocumentManager to build my own pack and go in autohotkey but the doc manager is having an even harder time in ahk. I was planning ...
by colt
Tue Aug 17, 2021 5:30 pm
Forum: API
Topic: using GetPackAndGo in autohotkey
Replies: 4
Views: 1199

using GetPackAndGo in autohotkey

I have converted most of my macros over to autohotkey, but am having trouble with the GetPackAndGo command. Autohotkey is an untyped language that can run vba macro code with only a few syntax changes. I kept getting the error 'parameter not optional' in ahk and 'argument not optional' in macro. 'Di...
by colt
Tue Jul 27, 2021 5:14 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: replacing sub assembly and keep mates.
Replies: 4
Views: 2150

Re: replacing sub assembly and keep mates.

Today I found a solution that it will always reattach mates, even if the assembly is constructed manually, as long as the assembly ID of the component is the same in both modules. The problem is that older assemblies we made had IDs in the teens because we deleted and added the connector rather than...
by colt
Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:23 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: replacing sub assembly and keep mates.
Replies: 4
Views: 2150

Re: replacing sub assembly and keep mates.

Yeah I figured it would not be retroactive. I was hoping though.

It seems like if using mate references it is more stable. I will have to look into the named entity feature.

Attached is example of problem.

Thanks for looking at it.
by colt
Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:22 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: replacing sub assembly and keep mates.
Replies: 4
Views: 2150

replacing sub assembly and keep mates.

I have multiple assemblies that mate using the same connector. In the beginning we made modules from scratch that used this connector. As time went on we used pack and go to progress these products. Now when we replace the module in an assembly it may or may not keep its connector mate depending on ...
by colt
Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:09 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: Exporting model with no retrievable data
Replies: 13
Views: 2823

Re: Exporting model with no retrievable data

Again thanks everyone for your input. I will probably run with the broken speedpack strategy. If they are clever enough and want to mess around converting from stl, so be it. we are aware that people will then figure out a way to either copy us I am probably being too paranoid. We've had designs bla...
by colt
Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:50 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: Exporting model with no retrievable data
Replies: 13
Views: 2823

Re: Exporting model with no retrievable data

They just need the file to put into their assembly to plan their layout make sure there is no interference with their product (visually only). AND the end customer will eventually see their model/rendering and need to be impressed with our sub-components. Disabling those options in edrawings was rea...
by colt
Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:53 am
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: Exporting model with no retrievable data
Replies: 13
Views: 2823

Re: Exporting model with no retrievable data

Thanks all. I am on 2018 and they are on 2019. Unfortunately, most of our ip comes from major features and overall dimensions. It would not be that hard for them to measure our product or trace over the raster drawing. I am just trying to make it as difficult as possible while giving the best repres...
by colt
Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:28 pm
Forum: How To Questions
Topic: Exporting model with no retrievable data
Replies: 13
Views: 2823

Exporting model with no retrievable data

One of our clients is requesting models of our products so they can build a prototype assembly for their customer. Our client has a similar product line to us and would would be considered a competitor in some regards. It is in our best interest retain all information in the model so that the end cu...
by colt
Tue Jun 01, 2021 11:19 am
Forum: API
Topic: Macro insert hole with position mate with a sketch ?
Replies: 1
Views: 589

Re: Macro insert hole with position mate with a sketch ?

Instead of hover snapping try selecting both using ctrl. Then select coincident. Macro recorder gave me this. boolstatus = Part.Extension.SelectByID2("Point3", "SKETCHPOINT", -4.79110246381096E-02, 1.79666342392911E-02, 0, False, 0, Nothing, 0) boolstatus = Part.Extension.SelectB...