How to Install & Activate SOLIDWORKS Visualize

SOLIDWORKS has given us a big power boost to present our designs at the highest level possible. Visualize Standard is a new tool available to all SOLIDWORKS Professional and Premium licenses that are current on subscription. If you choose not to renew your maintenance contract, then you will no longer get access to SOLIDWORKS Visualize.

There are 2 different packages available

Visualize Standard – Photo realistic rendering with and easy to use dashboard of colors and finishes.

Visualize Professional (separate license required) – Photo realistic rendering with the addition of high quality animations, render ques, and network rendering options.

What about Photoview 360?

Visualize is not a replacement for Photoview, but should be seen as a complement its capabilities. It provides more of the higher end tools that the community has been looking for.

System Specifications

• Windows^® 7 or newer (64-bit)

• Dual core CPU; Quad core recommended

• 8GB RAM; 16GB recommended

• 2GB free disk space; 5GB recommended

• 2GB or more GPU RAM; 4GB recommended

• NVIDIA^® graphics card: NVIDIA Quadro^®/NVIDIA GeForce^®/Tesla with at least NVIDIA Fermi chip; Dual-GPU setup with at least NVIDIA Kepler™ cards recommended

• NVIDIA driver version 354.56

• HDR Light Studio connection: HDR Light Studio v5.3 or newer

Downloading

To download SOLIDWORKS Visualize, you will need to log into the SOLIDWORKS customer portal. The download link is separate from the SOLIDWORKS installer, but there may be plans in future version to combine this into the SOLIDWORKS installation manager. We will update you when we know more.

Click the Downloads and Updates link:

Make sure you are looking at the 2016 download page.

Click the SOLIDWORKS visualize link to download the SWVizInstaller.msi

Installation

SOLIDWORKS Visualize is a standalone install and does not need to be installed on the same machine as your SOLIDWORKS install. You will use your SOLIDWORKS serial number for the activation.

Visualize will take you thru a very basic installer wizard.

Accept the agreement and click Next:

Choose the type of install, Typical or Custom.

Typical will use the default installation path.

Custom will allow the user to specify a custom installation path.

Custom install will also allow you to select which features will be installed.

Click the Install button to begin the installation.

Once the installation finishes, you will have an option to read the release notes and launch the program.

You now have SOLIDWORKS Visualize installed on your machine.

Activation

When you first launch Visualize, you will be prompted with a license activation screen. You have an option to either activate you license, or use the 15 day trial.

To Activate: Enter you SOLIDWORKS Professional, Premium, or Visualize Professional serial number. If you have network licenses of SOLIDWORKS Professional or Premium, you will enter you network serial number.

Visualize does not have a floating license option at this time. You do get one activation for each Professionals or Premium seat you have.

Activation requires an Internet connection. When activation finishes, an Internet connection is no longer required, but recommended.  Licenses can be perpetual or time-bound based on how you purchased the application.  Licenses that are issued as part of a SOLIDWORKS CAD Professional or Premium subscription expire with the expiration of the subscription service and need to be reactivated after this date. See Help > About in SOLIDWORKS Visualize for further information on your license.

Once you enter a serial number the Activate button will become active.

TransferDeactivate

To Dectivate: You can deactivate a license using Tools > Deactivate in SOLIDWORKS Visualize. The deactivation process requires an Internet connection. This frees up the seat that is bound to the SOLIDWORKS serial number and you can use it to activate SOLIDWORKS Visualize on another computer.

Visualize will give you a couple of prompts confirming if you want to deactivate your license.

I hope this help you download and activate your SOLIDWORKS Visualize products. If you have any issues or have additional questions about this process, please feel free to contact tech support.

Bryan Pawlak

Sr. Application Engineer

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.