SOLIDWORKS Composer 2023 Web Help

First, the help documentation received a MASSIVE upgrade. In prior releases, you could access Composer’s help documentation via a locally installed htm file. To access the help file, you use Internet Explorer and Java 8. Alternatively, load an Internet Explorer extension in modern browsers like Chrome. For already frustrated users consulting the help file, this htm file limitation was enough to send them right over the edge.

Legacy SOLIDWORKS Composer Help: Local file requiring Internet Explorer and Java 8

Now in SOLIDWORKS Composer 2023, the default selection is ‘Use Web Help’. When users select ‘Help Topics’ it launches directly to an online version of the SOLIDWORKS Composer help file. You don’t need legacy browsers or unnecessary browser extensions anymore!

SOLIDWORKS Composer New Online Help

This simple upgrade is a powerful enhancement to increase user productivity. Many users frustrated using the old local file limitations can now get the answers they need. As a pro-tip for users of SOLIDWORKS Composer 2020 through 2022, the links below give you access to an online version of the help file.

2020 Online Help for SOLIDWORKS Composer

2021 Online Help for SOLIDWORKS Composer

2022 Online Help for SOLIDWORKS Composer

SOLIDWORKS Composer 2023 View Collections

SOLIDWORKS Composer 2023 also sees a powerful new way to organize your views with Collections. In prior releases, organizing views was a bit of a challenge. You could rename and reorder views in the view pane with a simple drag and drop. But many times when opening a Composer file after an extended period of time or working with other users, it wasn’t clear what views belong with one another. This often led to users developing unique view naming and organization strategies that weren’t always intuitive.

Unconventional View Naming Strategies

In SOLIDWORKS Composer 2023, those confusing and tedious practices are a thing of the past thanks to Collections. Collections are custom groupings of views that streamline users’ workflows, better combining multiple views together in the view pane. Simply select the views that belong together, right-mouse-button on the View pane, and select “Add Collection”. You can reorder, rename, or delete Collections altogether. With a simple drag-and-drop, you can move views from one collection to another.

New View Collections

This new workflow for organizing your views simplifies and accelerates your technical documentation process.

Wrap-Up

Whether it’s finally using the help file now with Online Help or leveraging powerful new View Collections, SOLIDWORKS Composer continues to raise the bar as the best tool for creating your technical documentation with SOLIDWORKS Composer 2023.

I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2023. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2023. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”

Brandon Nelms
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

What is Design Innovation Month?

DESIGN INNOVATION MONTH 2022 – Live Events, Webinars, Virtual Showroom, Contests

Design Innovation Month is CATI’s “What’s New in 2023” event for SOLIDWORKS, 3DEXPERIENCE, and 3D Printing & 3D Scanning technology. This year we’re going back to the future to bring you in-person events, live and on-demand webinars, demonstrations, in-depth blog posts, and prizes! Best of all, it’s free of charge! Check the DI Month Hub for all the details and to sign up for your nearest live event.

Camera Views

My first tip for creating a Composer project is all about the camera views. SOLIDWORKS Composer lets you capture views with a single button click and captures everything in the viewport. This includes camera orientation, model colors and exploded positions, annotations, etc. A by-product of this easy view creation is the camera position is (almost) always in a different position view to view.

A Camera View only captures the properties of the Camera, orientation and zoom, nothing else. So, set the camera exactly as needed and create the Camera View.

Once created, apply them to any existing view (double-click or drag into the graphics window) and  you’ll notice the camera orientation update instantly. Update the view and move on to the next. Each of them will now have the same camera orientation and zoom level.

Note: Camera views will have a small camera icon in the lower right corner. Older versions of Composer have dark shading in the lower right corner for Camera Views, not the camera icon seen above.

Custom Views

A Camera View is a type of Custom View as they only capture as subset of all possible properties. Custom Views also allow capturing specific geometry actor (parts and assemblies) properties such as their position. A “position” custom view can simulate the motion of a part or replicate the exploded locations from one view to the next. Check out another one of my blog posts for more information on Custom Views.

Styles

Styles allow saving the properties of any actor (annotations) to control its appearance. For example, the size, color, outline thickness, and transparency of arrows. Once saved to a Style, those properties can modify the appearance of existing or new actors.

You can subscribe actors to a style. In my opinion, this is one of the most overlooked features of Styles. So with that in mind, subscribing actors to a Style is my second tip for creating a composer project. Then when a style changes, any subscribed actors automatically inherit that change. This is very useful for large changes; all text labels need to be switched to 12pt. Arial font.

Use the Styles Workshop Pane to create one. Go ahead and select an actor, an arrow annotation, and create a New Style.

Selecting the Family property associates the style with an actor type and keeps them organized in the Styles Tab of the ribbon. If you are unsure of the Family an actor belongs to, look to the labels on the Author Tab of the ribbon.

Continue selecting properties in the Style pane and adjust the settings as needed. This Style controls the following properties:

• Opacity sets the arrows to fully opaque
• DISABLE Stay on top so arrows pass through the geometry
• Sizes to fit the arrows in the geometry
• Set the color to Blue
• Enable Gradient for a “fade-in” look

Setting a Style as Default will automatically apply the properties to any annotation of the matching Family. This is where having the Family set correctly pays off and gives you that consistency in your project.

Note: A Default style will have a small yellow star in the upper right corner.

Tip #3 – User Profiles

Profiles save the settings within a Workshop to a file on your computer. Most users create several Profiles when customizing the settings for the High Resolution, Technical Illustration, or other Workshops. What they may not know is they likely have a collection of Profiles to share.

Creating the Blue Arrow Style is also saving a Profile named Blue Arrow.smgStyleSet to the SOLIDWORKS Composer user profile folder:

C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\SOLIDWORKSComposer\User\Profiles

Copy the saved Profiles to all Composer users’ profile folders and everyone is using the same settings.

For a list of all Profiles, see the Composer online help.

Data Paths

The alternative to copying Profiles to all users is using Data Paths in Composer. Data Paths store lists of folder locations for Composer resources, including Profiles. Place the Profiles in shared folder locations and modify the Data Paths to direct Composer to that location.  How do we modify the Data Paths? We edit the DataPath.xml file in the user profile folder. For information on editing this file and required syntax, see the Composer online help.

Wrap up

Hopefully, you can see Composer has many capabilities to help maintain consistency with your projects. Instead of changing the same properties on every annotation every time how about trying a Style to help do that for you?

Kris Dubuque
Sr. Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

I am not suggesting that Composer is a drawing creation tool. Without a doubt, the best software to create production quality drawings is SOLIDWORKS. Think of this post as a “can it be done?” Not necessarily should it be.

Where to start?

We are attempting to replicate the look of a 2D detail drawing, so it makes sense to start with the paper size. In this example, I am representing an ANSI B Landscape drawing with the dimensions of 17 x 11 in, rounded to 432 x 280 mm. I ignored the Portrait/Landscape setting, kept it in portrait, and set the values for length and width accordingly.

Creating Views

SOLIDWORKS Composer excels at view creation and capturing what you need is easy. Adjust the camera orientation as needed to show the desired projected view. Using the Align Camera options, combining the keyboard arrow keys with CTRL, SHIFT and Alt are particularly useful for view orientation. One last note, keep Camera Prospective View off to give it that flat 2D look. Get the orientation needed, set the Render mode and create as many views as needed.

Adding Measurements

Measurements are where the differences between Composer and a CAD tool like SOLIDWORKS are very apparent. We are not working with the “true” CAD geometry, but tessellated representations of it. For example, a circle in Composer is not a circle but a polygon made up of small straight edges. Because of this difference, it is unlikely that all measurements are possible. For example, Composer measurements cannot select silhouette edges or virtual sharps.

What about the measurement value and units? Due to the tessellated geometry the resulting value may be slightly off. In the above example the skid length is 173.99mm, but I modeled it to be 174mm. Modifying the values is just a Text String change away.

If you need to change the units from millimeters to inches, or vice versa, please refer to this blog post written by Judy Hahn. Remember to ALWAYS keep the Model unit (internal) set to millimeters when importing SOLIDWORKS files.

Creating the “drawing” views

We have the desired views created. How can we represent them simultaneously in the graphics window within the paper space? 2D Image Panels are the answer, specifically the Vector Image 2D panel to keep image quality highest.

For more information on creating Composer detail views, please see this blog post.

With the Vector Detail views created, it is a matter turning them on and positioning them within the paper space. The new Composer view consists of three visible Vector Image 2D panels representing a side, top and isometric view. Showing the model is also an option to achieve the desired outcome.

Border and Title Block

This step of the process is a bit more involved but follows the same workflow. Obtain a title block and border in either a raster or vector format and insert it into Composer using a 2D image or vector panel. From there, adjust the properties to size the panel to fit. You will need to enable the Background setting to place the 2D behind all other objects. Freeze is another setting you may find useful to enable. When a panel is frozen, it is no longer selectable in the graphics window. This helps in not accidently moving or resizing a panel.

For this boarder, I exported an empty drawing from SOLIDWORKS to an Adobe Illustrator file. I used Inkscape to make minor text position edits and convert to a .svg for Composer to use.

The result

So, there you have it. This is an unconventional technique, but it can result in an interesting document. The finished example combines vector views, an exploded 3D model view with callouts and a Bill of Materials. The look of a 2D drawing with the interactivity of Composer vector output.

Kris Dubuque
Sr. Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

Both of these options can successfully bring CAD files into Composer, though there are some structural differences that may affect your ability to evolve the project. Let’s take a look at where they diverge.

Open

When you use “Open” to load a model into Composer, the software puts that model at the top of the hierarchy in the assembly tree. Composer refers to this top-level entity as the “root.”

The results of the “Open” method are displayed in the picture below. As shown in the tree, the imported Cabinet assembly file is the root (indicated by the globe icon), and its components are listed underneath. This is similar to the SOLIDWORKS FeatureManager for this assembly.

This organization method can cause some confusion if you need to insert other CAD files, though. If any other models are added to the document later on, they will also be listed under the root, making it appear as though they are components of that assembly rather than separate files.

In this case, a Lamp assembly from SOLIDWORKS is brought in using the “Merge into the current document” option from the Open command. Even though the Lamp model has no relationship with the Cabinet in SOLIDWORKS, it is listed in the tree amidst the Cabinet assembly’s components.

For what it’s worth, Composer would show a different icon in the assembly tree if the Lamp were truly a subassembly of the Cabinet: Rather than the white “L” seen above (denoting the Lamp as an “internal structure,” or simply a “group”), it would use the typical SOLIDWORKS assembly logo (a yellow upside-down “T” with a blue cube in its upper-right corner). Regardless, the intermingling between the Lamp and the Cabinet components might lead to the assumption that the Lamp is part of the Cabinet model, potentially causing confusion in BOMs or other documentation during the illustration process.

Merge into a new document

If “Merge into a new document” is selected when importing, Composer creates a top-level Root folder within which the model is stored. This essentially adds a tier to the hierarchy—the CAD file is no longer at the top, but rather it is a sublevel of the Root.

The image below shows the results of a “Merge into a new document” operation with the Cabinet. The Cabinet is recognized as a group of geometry actors nested inside the Root.

With this approach, any other models that get merged into the document following the initial import will appear within the Root folder but not within the existing model, making it easy to understand the relationships—or lack thereof—between the actors.

When the Lamp is inserted into this document, the assembly tree separates it from the Cabinet assembly. Unlike with the “Open” method above, there is no ambiguity as to the relationship between the Lamp and the Cabinet; they are simply distinct groups within the Root.

There are also some differences in the way these two methods handle multiple files. If two or more CAD models are selected when you use the “Open” option, each one will get its own document. If “Merge into a new document” is enabled instead, all models will be added to a single Root folder.

I, personally, think “Merge into a new document” makes the most sense of the two approaches. If your scope expands to encompass multiple CAD files, this method will ensure your assembly tree always distinguishes unrelated models. Still, if you’re confident you will only need to detail a single CAD model and you want to avoid the extra layer of the Root folder, you may prefer the “Open” approach. Whichever you use, I hope this explanation has at least given you enough information to feel confident in your decision.

Anthony Sandri
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Well, the first thing to know is that you install all of these products through the SOLIDWORKS installation manager. To download the installation manager, you will need to click the SOLIDWORKS download link.

Next, run the installation manager and enter the serial number for your products.

If you have all your licenses set up to be renewed at the same time, you may have only one SOLIDWORKS serial number for all your assets. In this case, you only need to enter a serial number under the SOLIDWORKS serial number and not each individual product.

If you have separate individual seats of Composer, Plastics, Inspection, MBD, or Simulation that are not tied to your SOLIDWORKS seat, then you will have a separate serial number for each product.

Breaking Down The Additional SOLIDWORKS Add-Ins

Let’s break down each of the tools you might be working with. Then, I’ll show you the process to follow when you’re ready to install your additional SOLIDWORKS add-ins. First up, let’s dig into SOLIDWORKS Composer.

SOLIDWORKS Composer

Composer is a desktop content-creation system that enables the reuse of digital 3D data from CAD and other sources. Easy-to-use, Composer lets you quickly create assembly and disassembly procedures, technical illustrations, interactive 3D animations, training materials, marketing materials, sales tools, and more.

Composer Capabilities

Composer allows users in sales, marketing, customer service, training, support, and manufacturing to create associated 2D and 3D product deliverables directly from digital product data – without requiring CAD knowledge or CAD training.

SOLIDWORKS Composer has the following capabilities:

• Based on a lightweight, open, XML-based architecture.
• Creates 3D interactive documents such as interactive assembly and service procedures.
• Creates high-resolution raster images including BMP, JPG, PNG, and TIF files.
• Produces 2D line art as SVG and CGM files with automatic hidden line and construction line removal.
• Adds annotations, labels, dimensions, arrows, images, and cutting planes that can be used in any way and format the user wishes.
• Controls visual consistency of content using styles.
• Imports data from many 3D CAD systems and can be maintained in the file system or in any PLM system.
• Outputs industry-standard file formats, including PDF, HTML, AVI, and graphics formats like SVG and CGM.
• Document a product while it is incomplete, push updates to all deliverables quickly and the animation timeline easily.
• Uses occlusion detection to find internal, non-visible parts on a single view, all views, or
• Uses decimation to reduce the tessellation of selected parts to reduce the size of the .smg file.

What is the Composer Player/Player Pro

Composer Player includes:

• A standalone executable (.exe) file that does not require any installation or advanced operating system permissions.
• ActiveX control that you must register during the installation (advanced operating system permissions are required for the installation only).
  • Note: The Composer Player ActiveX plug-in requires Internet Explorer.

With a Composer Player Pro license, you get all the capabilities of the free Composer Player and the following additional premium features:

• The ability to save content that has been edited in the Player. (Saving content also requires the Save Right Manager right.)
• An advanced ActiveX API that enables enhanced integration and interaction in custom applications.

Composer Player and Composer Player Pro are the same executable file. A Composer Player Pro license is required to enable Pro features.

What is Composer Sync

Sync and Enterprise Sync batch convert 3D CAD files and other 3D formats into Composer formats. Sync and Enterprise Sync automatically incorporate design changes in geometry, metadata, and product structure directly into Composer content.

Both Sync and Enterprise Sync let you configure and perform conversions from the graphical user interface. Enterprise Sync also includes:

• A command-line interface that lets you integrate with other software, such as product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. For details about the command-line interface, see the Composer Programming Guide.
• The ability to run scheduled batch conversions.

SOLIDWORKS Plastics

SOLIDWORKS Plastics is a powerful injection molding simulation tool that helps you optimize the design and manufacturability of your plastic parts and injection molds. It is fully integrated with the SOLIDWORKS application.

SOLIDWORKS Plastics simulates the injection molding manufacturing process where melted plastic material (in the form of small pellets) flows under high pressure through a heated barrel and into a mold cavity. Once the plastic material cools down, it solidifies into the shape of the mold contour and conforms to the geometry of the desired part.

Plastics is not a standalone application, so you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. If your Plastics has the same serial number as SOLIDWORKS you will not need to fill in the SOLIDWORKS Plastics serial number.

SOLIDWORKS Inspection

SOLIDWORKS Inspection software automates the creation of ballooned inspection drawings and inspection sheets for First Article Inspection (FAI) and in-process inspections. Save time and virtually eliminate errors by speeding up this repetitive manual process.

SOLIDWORKS® Inspection helps you leverage your existing 2D legacy data, regardless of whether files are SOLIDWORKS, PDFs, or TIFFs.

Inspection can be installed as an add-in inside of SOLIDWORKS or as a standalone application. If you are installing it as an add-in you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. If your Inspection has the same serial number as SOLIDWORKS you do not need to fill in the SOLIDWORKS Inspection serial number.

SOLIDWORKS MBD (Model Based Definition)

SOLIDWORKS MBD (Model Based Definition) is an integrated drawingless manufacturing solution for SOLIDWORKS. MBD helps define, organize, and publish 3D Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) including 3D model data in industry-standard file formats. It guides the manufacturing process directly in 3D, which helps streamline production, cut cycle time, reduce errors, and support industry standards.

SOLIDWORKS MBD (Model Based Definition) lets you create models without the need for drawings giving you an integrated manufacturing solution for the SOLIDWORKS software. You can use SOLIDWORKS technologies such as annotation views, dynamic viewing of annotation planes, and 3D views to organize 3D PMI in a structured, easy-to-locate fashion.

Besides the native SOLIDWORKS file formats, SOLIDWORKS MBD creates output files such as 3D PDFs and eDrawings.

The SOLIDWORKS MBD add-in:

• Operates within the SOLIDWORKS environment with its own Command Manager.
• SOLIDWORKS MBD CommandManager for parts

SOLIDWORKS MBD Command Manager for assemblies

Like SOLIDWORKS Plastics, MBD is not a standalone application, so you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. As well, if your MBD has the same serial number as SOLIDWORKS you won’t need to fill in the SOLIDWORKS MBD serial number.

SOLIDWORKS Simulation

SOLIDWORKS® Simulation is a design analysis system fully integrated with SOLIDWORKS. This provides simulation solutions for linear and nonlinear static, frequency, buckling, thermal, fatigue, pressure vessel, drop test, linear and nonlinear dynamic, and optimization analyses.

Powered by fast and accurate solvers, SOLIDWORKS Simulation enables you to solve large problems intuitively while you design. SOLIDWORKS Simulation comes in three bundles: SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard, SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional, and SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium to meet your analysis needs.

SOLIDWORKS Simulation shortens time to market by saving time and effort in searching for the optimum design.

Simulation is the same story that we’ve seen before. It is not a standalone application, so you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. You may have a separate serial number for SOLIDWORKS Simulation, in which case, you’ll enter that separately from CAD.

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

Flow Simulation is a software fully integrated with SOLIDWORKS for computing fluid (gas or liquid) flows inside and outside SOLIDWORKS models, as well as heat transfer to (from, between, in) these models due to convection, radiation, and conduction with a proved computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology.

The outstanding feature of Flow Simulation is its intuitively clear and comfortable interface including a preprocessor for specifying data for the calculation (with Engineering Database on substances properties), a co-processor for monitoring and controlling the calculation, a postprocessor for viewing the obtained results, giving you more time to study the results and varying the calculations.

Designed by engineers for engineers, Flow Simulation is widely used in many industries and for various applications, where design optimization and performance analysis are extremely important, such as valves and regulators, hydraulic and pneumatic components, heat exchangers, automotive parts, electronics, and many others.

Once again, Flow Simulation is not a standalone application, so follow the same rules we’ve discussed previously.

SOLIDWORKS Motion

SOLIDWORKS Motion works inside the SOLIDWORKS window and uses existing assembly information to build motion simulation studies. By combining physics-based motion with assembly information, you can use SOLIDWORKS Motion for a broad span of industry applications like estimating peak motor torque, understanding robotics performance during operation, optimizing or minimizing the force imbalances in rotating systems, etc.

The Motion serial number could be separate from SOLIDWORKS but it is the same installation. As we’ve said for several previous applications, SOLIDWORKS Motion is not a separate tool.

How To Install Your Additional SOLIDWORKS Add-Ins

The installation process is pretty straightforward. First, launch the installation manager that you downloaded earlier. Once you get to the serial number screen, enter any serial numbers for additional products.

Now, SOLIDWORKS will validate the serial number. This can take a few seconds.

Next, you have the option if you want to upgrade a previous version of SOLIDWORKS or start fresh. You can have multiple versions installed, it just takes up more disk space.

On the Summary page, SOLIDWORKS displays all of the products that it’s adding to your installation. If the list doesn’t contain every additional SOLIDWORKS add-in you want to install, select Change under the Products header and add them from the list.

Finally, click the Install Now button.

As for the SOLIDWORKS Customer Experience Improvement Program, it is voluntary. That said, we strongly encourage participation. Participating will not slow down your system! SOLIDWORKS automatically creates the performance log files in the background whether you participate or not. So please make sure to opt in!! This program helps SOLIDWORKS improve product quality and determine product usage trends.

We hope this series has given you insight into how to successfully install SOLIDWORKS 2023.  Please check back to the CATI Blog as the Dedicated Support Team will continue posting new series of articles every month that go further into the details of many of the SOLIDWORKS tools.

Blaze Johnson
Support Engineer
Computer Aided Technology,LLC.

What Stays the Same: SOLIDWORKS Composer

The good news is the changes made in SOLIDWORKS Composer to the Play, Next, Previous, and Last buttons all remain the same. These changes ensure the animation allows for pause points and interactivity with the end user. To sum up from the last blog the changes that are needed for the ‘Link’ property for the various buttons are as follows:

First Button: marker://[Insert Name of First Marker]
Last Button: marker://[Insert Name of Last Marker]
Next Button: play://ref:play
Previous Button: marker://[Insert Name of previous marker]

If any of the ‘Insert Name of X Marker’ doesn’t ring a bell, I’d recommend taking a look at the previous blog post again for additional details.

What’s Changed

Now for the changes needed. The previous method of sharing a link with any user by selecting the file > Share > Share by Link > Activate Link is no longer valid. Currently, ‘Share’ was changed to ‘Add members’. But using ‘Add members’ doesn’t provide the share ability you might think. This method requires you to add individual members of your 3DEXPERIENCE Platform.

In order to share the file with ANY user whether they’re on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform or not, you need to use a different method. For this method your administrator needs to activate the option to ‘Share a File by Link with Guest Users’. With this option enabled, you can select the SMG file you want to share, then select ‘Information’, then ‘Access by link’, and activate the ‘Activate external sharing link’ toggle button.

Now you have a link you can share with any user outside the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Simply selecting ‘Copy Link’ gives you a link that can be sent to a desired consumer of your SMG animation.

There is a caveat worth mentioning with this methodology. Much like Cinderella this link too has an expiration date (I don’t think that’s the way the story went, but close enough). Only instead of midnight, this link expires after 30 days.

For an even deeper dive, check out my 3DEXPERIENCE WORLD 2022 presentation on this topic.

Brandon Nelms
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

Outlines

Outlines are the rendered edges of the models in addition to the shading of the body. They can be the sharp edges of the model as well as a boundary edge between faces, think of a fillet transitioning to a planar face. The following image from Composer shows the outlines in black using the Technical rendering mode with Construction Edges. The Smooth and Flat render modes do not contain outlines.

Outline Calculation

Upon opening a file in Composer, the outlines are calculated when a render mode that displays them is activated. For many files this happens so quickly the user barely notices. As complexity increases, it can take a noticeable amount of time. Notice the “Outline in Progress…” message.

The type of geometry and number of models contribute to the calculation time. The higher the face count and increased complexity, the longer it takes. Another contributor is the selected Outline Style, with Smart Outlines being the most calculation intensive.

Smart Outlines

The Smart Outlines setting automatically calculates a new “edge” centered between the edges of circular fillets. This setting is desirable as it decreases the number of entities in a vector output such as SVG or EPS. The fewer the overall entities, the less processing the vector file requires. For the model show here, the calculation of Smart Outlines takes just under 30 seconds. For larger, more complex files, expect this time to increase.

I do want to clarify that outlines are not calculated every time the render mode, or outline style, is changed. They are calculated upon opening and stored in memory (RAM) until the files is closed. Every time the file is opened, the process repeats.

Write Outlines

So now that we better understand what Outlines are and how they are calculated, what can we do about it? Composer has a setting that can reduce the “overall time” dedicated to calculating outlines when working with files. The setting is: File > Document Properties > Output > Write Outlines.

I used the phrase “overall time” because the outlines must still be calculated one time. There is no way to avoid this. Upon saving the file, the outlines are saved to a file named: product.smgOutlines. Most users save to the SMG file format and will not see this file separately on disk. The next time this file is opened, switching to a mode that uses outlines will be nearly instant, even Smart Outlines.

This setting does have a minor drawback in the file size will increase.

That is a 25% increase in size, which is significant. With storage as inexpensive as it is, I’ll take a larger file for better performance any day. In testing multiple files of various sizes, the size increase was typically between 20-25%.

If your files have a noticeable delay when calculating outlines, give this setting a try. If you find this setting beneficial, make sure you also enable it in the Default Document Properties so new files will use the setting. You have nothing to lose, and you can always turn it off if the file size increase is too much to work with.

Thank you for reading.

Kris Dubuque
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

Importing Decals from SOLIDWORKS Files

Decals that are added to a SOLIDWORKS part file can now be added into Composer when the file is being imported. There are 3 ways to make this happen:

1. To open a file with this setting, click File > Open and select a SOLIDWORKS file. Under SOLIDWORKS, select Import SOLIDWORKS decals in the dialog box.

2. To set this option as a default, in SOLIDWORKS Composer, click File > Properties > Default Document Properties > Advanced Properties. Under INPUT – IMPORT, select IOSWImportDecals to Enable.

3. For Composer Sync users, at the bottom of the window, click More Properties > Advanced Properties. In the dialog box, under INPUT – IMPORT, select Batch.IOSWImportDecals to enable batch import of decals.

(For more information, see Managing (Default) Document Properties > Input in Composer Help.)

Support for Higher Version of Import Formats

SOLIDWORKS Composer and SOLIDWORKS Composer Sync support higher versions of the following import formats:

• ACIS up to R2021 1.0
• Pro/E® Creo 1.0 to 7.0
• SOLIDWORKS 2006 to 2022

(For more information, see Importing and Opening Files > About Supported Import Formats or Sync > About Import Formats and File Types > About Supported Import Formats in Composer Help.)

I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2022. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2022. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”

I hope you found this helpful! Thanks for reading.

Judy Marlo, CSWE, CSPP
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

What is Design Innovation Month?

DESIGN INNOVATION MONTH 2021 – Webinars, Virtual Showroom, Contests
Design Innovation Month is CATI’s massive “What’s New in 2022” event for SOLIDWORKS, 3DEXPERIENCE, and 3D printing & 3D scanning technology.  That’s six weeks of live and on-demand webinars, demonstrations, in-depth blog posts, and prizes!  Best of all, it’s free of charge!  Check the DI Month Hub for all the details and to sign up for your next event. 

Would you be surprised if I told you this issue cannot be remedied inside SOLIDWORKS Composer? Unexpectedly, the cause is the graphics processor setting of the computer. Thankfully the “fix” is very straightforward.

Modifying Graphics Settings

Depending on the make and model of your computer and graphics card installed, your screens may be different. This example is from a Dell Precision laptop with NVIDIA graphics hardware. We get to the NVIDIA Control Panel from the Desktop and a right click or use Windows Search for “NVIDIA Control Panel.”

Within the NVIDIA Control Panel, we will modify the options for the Manage 3D settings group. The Preferred graphics processor is typically set to “auto select” to balance performance and battery life. The idea being the driver will activate the high-performance processor for a demanding application and use the integrated processor otherwise. Please select the image to show full size.

In my experience, auto-select may not activate the high performance for every application when needed. The driver was using integrated graphics resulting in translation issues for Composer. Please select the image to show full size.

Changing the Base Profile to the high-performance processor restores the translation behavior.

I should mention that this setting is for the Global 3D setting and the computer will always use the high-performance processor. This will likely have a negative impact on battery life.

Windows Graphics settings

Windows has settings to select a graphics processor per application. Use Windows Search for “graphics settings” or navigate from the Desktop to the Display Settings.

Within the Display Settings scroll to Graphic Settings. Please select the image to show full size.

We select the “Desktop app” type and Browse to the SOLIDWORKS Composer executable. I am using the default installation folder for this example.

C:Program FilesSOLIDWORKS CorpSOLIDWORKS Composerbin

Please select the image to show full size.

Your installation folder may vary. If you have difficulties finding the correct folder, please give us a call.

The default setting is Let Windows decide, and is that always the best idea? Changes are an Options button away by selecting the desired graphics processor and save the setting. Please select the image to show full size.

With this information the choice is yours and you control when maximum performance is needed and when better battery life is more important. Thank you for reading.

Kris Dubuque
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

For more details on the topic, Jordan Puentes put together a detailed blog post on common causes and recovery options for SOLIDWORKS files. 

Out of all the potential causes listed in the post, “network issues” tends to be the most common. With most of us working remote, it is something to keep an eye on. Unless you are lucky enough to have a fully wired home network, you are relying on a Wi-Fi connection to open, and save, that mission critical file. The best recommendation is to work locally by copying the files to the local drive, modify the files as needed, save the files locally and copy them back to a network location.

Note: this example assumes one is not using SOLIDWORKS PDM.

Corrupt files

For SOLIDWORKS Composer, file corruption may show itself a few different ways. The one being addressed today is the following message:

Zip archive error, what does that have to do with SOLIDWORKS Composer? The Composer .smg file format is a compressed archive file like many familiar types: .zip, .rar, etc.   In many cases, the file can be extracted to a folder resulting in the constituent files that make up a Composer document.

File extraction

While Windows has native support for extracting file archives, the Composer file format is not one that Windows recognizes. Installing a file compression application of your choosing is needed to open the file.

Depending on the level of corruption, the file extraction utility may give you a message of the problem file or files. With this information, you can verify the integrity of the files listed.

A very important note: if the file fails all attempts at extraction, the file cannot be recovered. If is happens, a back up file is necessary.

Extraction Results

Upon extracting the Composer .smg file, you will have a folder with many more files than you started with. These are the individual files Composer uses internally to generate a Composer document.

• The jpeg files outlined in green are 2D Image panels used in this document.
• The bitmap files outlined in orange are the predefined Navigation buttons.
• The jpeg files outlined in blue are for the View previews.
• The files in red are the Composer files themselves.

Composer files and recovery

The two Composer files listed are used to recover the document. Before we do that, I will briefly explain what they are and why they are important. Do not modify these files, they must keep the file name of “project” and reside in the same folder.

• product.smgGeom – This file contains the geometry definitions of the 3d models in the Composer document.
• Product.smgXml – this is an XML file that contains the assembly structure, actor positions, modified properties, pointers to the various image files used, etc.

These files are not only useful in attempting file recovery but are part of a collection of files used in the Composer Project file format. For more information about the file format, please refer to the SOLIDWORKS Composer online help documentation.

Since we’ve made it this far, we simply open the project.smgXml file to recover the Composer document.

Once the file opens, check it for completeness. Test the views, links, BOMs, etc. and see what was recovered and what was not. In the few instances I’ve used this technique, the file is mainly intact and minor edits are required. Every situation is unique and some files may need more work than others.

Before doing too much work with the recovered file, you may want to save the file back into the .smg file format. This is a familiar process of File, Save As, choosing the name and filetype.

I hope you never need he technique shown here. If you do run into a Composer zip archive error when opening a file, you have the tools to attempt to recover the document. As always, please contact us in Technical Support and we can assist with the process: support@cati.com and 888-285-2284.

Kris Dubuque
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.