CATI Tech Notes

SoidWorks could not create a journal file

Recently SolidWorks decided that they would control the placement of the journal file rather than giving the user the ability to put it in the location of their choice.  This is generally not a big deal due to the fact that for most circumstances this file is of no use to the user.  (And if it was put in the wrong place it could be quite a problem.)

The Problem

Unfortunately, what I have been seeing a lot lately is minor issues when sharing options files with the copy options wizard.  The good news is that the location is actually stored in the registry and, as any good redneck knows, the place to work around most things in Windows is the registry.  You can also cause a lot of damage so determine your goal before beginning.

1. The option file is created using the copy options wizard and stores it to a .sldreg file.  (This also copies the location of the Journal file for that user)  This file is stored in "c:\Document and Settings\<User Login>\Application Data\SolidWorks\SolidWorks 2008" or c:\Document and Settings\<User Login>\Application Data\Solid Work" or even somewhere else, but always in the users profile.
2. This file is then distributed to other users via the copy options wizard or through a forced deployment with an Admin Image. (The path to the original users journal file gets passed to the new user as well.)
3. The new user launches SolidWorks and gets the following message:
4. The user selects Ok then SolidWorks launches.  The user does this every time they launch.

Generally the problem is that the user is pointing to a location in another users profile that does not exist on the current machine or the user does not have permission to access.

The redneck work arounds

1 ---- Hack the registry after the copy options process completes (Usually used for sharing the file one user to another)

1. While logged into Windows as the user having the problem Run Regedit
2. Navigate through the registry to this location: HKEY\CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks\SolidWorks 2008\ExtReferences
3. Delete the value SolidWorks Journal Folders
4. The next time SolidWorks is launched the value will be recreated using the default value that places the journal file in the current users profile where he has access.

2 ---- Hack the copy options file prior to distribution (Usually used for deployment via administrative image)

1. Open the .sldreg file created from the copy options wizard using Notepad
2. Select the Find option in the Edit menu
3. Search for the phrase "SolidWorks Journal Folders"
4. It will be found only once in the file and the value will be set to the path of to the journal file for the original user that created the file.
5. Delete the entire path leaving the quotation marks (Leaving the quotes is important)
6. Use the copy options wizard to load the newly edited file into a new machine or distribute the file using an administrative image.
7. The next time SolidWorks is launched the value will be recreated using the default value that places the journal file in the current users profile where he has access.  (The changes in the registry may not show-up until SolidWorks is shutdown.

I have heard that this issue will be resolved in SolidWorks 2009.  However, until then, you will have to use the redneck workarounds.

Adrian Fanjoy

Technical Services Manager

Computer Aided Technology

That RSS Feed thingy in eDrawings

Have you ever noticed that RSS feed inside of eDrawings and SolidWorks.

In SolidWorks you can easily disable this in the System Options but not so much in eDrawings this is especially annoying if your company requires you to enter a user name and password every time you log on to the internet.

We tried several of our usually tricks to disable this like shaking the monitor to see if it fell off (this only works with that fancy Etch-a-Sketch CAD Modeler), so when this did not work we needed to find a way to cut it out and the best way to do this is hacking into the registry of the machine.

To disable this RSS feed you will need to do the following:

1.       Start the Registy Editor and browse to the following location HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\eDrawings\e2008\General

2.       Create a new DWORD Value called “RSSFeed”  it will automatically set the value to 0.

Now the next time you start eDrawings the RSS feed will not display.

If you are not comfortable hacking into your Registry you can run the attached file and it will automatically add the key with a value of 0.

Download eDrawingsturnoffRSS.reg

A word of caution please back up you registry before applying the attached REG key or making any  changes to it.

Josh Altergott

CATI Support Team Leader

Remember that you are a true red neck when you hear the into to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama and turn it up when the song tells you to.

5/6/2008 Update: Sorry I forgot to include this in the orginal post but this issue has been identified by SolidWorks Support as a bug and is with SW Devolpment as SPR 420670. Please contact CATI or your reseller to be added to the SPR notificaation list.

Modify your BOM to look the way you want it to

I have recently received several questions from customers regarding BOM’s.  There seems to be some confusion on how to modify your BOM.  If you would like to change the order of your parts in your BOM but you don’t want to change the order of your parts in the assembly, all you need to do is make sure that your BOM is not set to “Follow Assembly Order” when you insert your BOM.  As long that is not selected you can simply select the row you want to move and hover your mouse over the numbers on the far left hand side of the BOM until you see a gray arrow.  At that point, you can drag that row and place it anywhere you like.  You can also follow the same procedure to move a column to the location of your choice.  One last tip…If you already have a BOM in place that has “follow assembly order” selected, you can simply select the BOM.  In the upper left hand corner of the BOM select the “cross hairs”, this will bring up the BOM property manager and allow you to turn off your “follow assembly order”.  This will aid you in designing the way you want.

Phil Whitaker

Where did the scroll bars go?

Many users transitioning from SolidWorks 2007 to 2008 have been asking "Where did the scroll bars go?" Well, they were removed, either by accident or on purpose the world may never know. But the good news is that starting with SolidWorks 2008 SP2.0 they are back!! However you still need to find how to turn them on. So here's how to get it back.

Under the Tools, Options, System Options, Display/Selection menu:

The third check box from the bottom reads "Display scrollbars in graphics view." Please note that this option cannot be checked or unchecked while a SolidWorks file is opened, meaning you will have to close all SolidWorks files to modify this option. While at this point there is nothing open anyway, change this option then close SolidWorks to let the change get saved to your registry settings. Then re-open your SolidWorks and enjoy your scroll bar freedom!!

John Van Engen
Technical Analyst

Copy Options Wizard (What if I don't have admin rights?)

One of my favorite Redneck Workarounds ... 

Many of us have run into this scenario.  I want to copy my SolidWorks options so my coworkers can load them and not have to make all of those picks themselves.  The problem is that in many companies they don't allow users admin rights to the machines and SolidWorks requires that you have admin rights to save SolidWorks options with the copy options wizard.

The work around:

First you need to get a "Fake" SolidWorks options file and save it to your desktop. (You can use the one attached to this posting if you don't have one.)

Download swSettings_Fake.sldreg

Next launch the Copy Options Wizard

 

.

Instead of Saving Settings, which is what you want to do, select Restore Settings.

In the Restore settings from file window Browse to the "Fake" swOptions file that you have.  (If you use mine it will only show keyboard shortcuts in the check boxes below.  This is because the file I created was an empty file of keyboard shortcuts.)

In the next screen select Current User.

The next window is the Finish Operation window.  Make sure that you have the create backup checkbox selected before you finish the operation.  (If you do not do this you will loose all of your current setting and there is no retrieving them.)

When you select Finish you will right the "Fake" settings into your registry and your current settings will be written to a backup file on your desktop. (assuming that that is where you pulled the "Fake" file from earlier)

Change the name of the backup file to something that makes sense to you.

Restore the file back into your registry using the copy options wizard as we just did but this time there is no need to backup the current settings because they came from the "Fake" file.

Now you are back where you started and you have a file that you can use to share your SolidWorks settings.

Adrian Fanjoy

Technical Services Manager

Computer Aided Technology

When bailing wire and duct tape won't do it

As many of CATI's customers already know I am the Technical Services Manager for CATI.  I am also,  for all intents and purposes, a redneck.  I hail from the Deep South, and in the environment I grew-up in there was no excuse for having a piece of equipment sitting around do nothing unless you blew it up previously.  (I mean with explosives.)

Josh Altergott is the Support Team Lead for CATI and the closest thing I've seen to a redneck north of the Mason Dixon Line.  What we learned in our personal and professional lives is that there is very little that can't be fixed duct tape and bailing wire.  But if you run into a case where these options will not work then a truly creative solution is in order.  We have also learned that every software problem requires a creative redneck workaround because you only have to fry 8 or 10 machines before you realize that bailing wire conducts electricity.

The best redneck workarounds are spawned from a need for a creative, cost effective solution, or, an overwhelming bent toward laziness, as seems to be the case in the video above.  Together, with the rest of the CATI technical staff, we plan to show you some odd and creative redneck workarounds.  Please check back with us routinely to see what we've come up with.

Adrian Fanjoy

Technical Services Manager

Computer Aided Technology 

Xpress It!

Make sure you explore the new DriveWorksXpress feature inside of SolidWorks 2008.  This is a cut down version of the Design Automation software DriveWorks.  This tool allows you to capture knowledge and rules from your design and engineer-to-order.  For a quick simple example, let’s say our company makes tables that come in any size.  That table consists of four leg components, a table top, and two support beams.   A customer requires a table with a different height and width.  First we need to think about how we are going to store and track these model changes.  Is this going to be a new configuration of the assembly using new configurations of the parts?  Or are we going to make a new assembly with new parts, and if so, how do we name these new parts?  Once we figure out the logistics, we need to make the changes - change the table width, change the support beams width and change the height of the legs.  This doesn’t seem too complicated at first, but as we get requested for different tables over and over again, making these changes becomes tedious, and we spend our time modify designs instead of developing new ones. 

With DriveWorksXpress (found under the Tools menu in SolidWorks), we can model our table once, capture dimensions and features from it, build rules about these dimensions and features.  Then anytime we want a new table, we fill out a simple form with our table requirements and DriveWorksXpress does the rest!  It will make all the necessary changes to our models as well as establish a naming convention to help store and track our models.  Check it out – it might save you a lot of time.

Design Better!

Leslie Lougheed

Glad to Be Here!

I always knew this is where I would end up. I didn’t know why or when or what circumstances would present themselves, but somehow I just new. My name is Todd Werginz and I am the new tech at CATI. I will be working out of the Brookfield office helping existing, and prospective customers with the “Technical Aspects” of  Solidworks. 

First I need to give a little background. I have been associated with the manufacturing field for some time (20 Years Ouch!). I have been married to my wife Heidi for 15 years. I have three children ages 19, 13, and 5. I enjoy fishing, hunting, woodworking, playing my drums and family type outdoor activities. I took a summer job after my second year of college as a sweeper in a mold making shop. I had never seen anything like it before and was truly fascinated. Being one who loved to work with my hands and a creative type person I decided to pursue this with passion. Now mind you when I started this career were talking about  punched paper tape for CNC’s and drawing tables with cigarette filled ashtrays in the lower right corners being wielded by ornery designers with pocket protectors. But I saw something here. 3D visionaries trying to get by on a 2D budget.  I always could "SEE" in 3D and it came easy for me. 2D paper drawings just suck!

As my career progressed building tools in both the die cast and plastic injection molding industries, I saw a trend start to emerge. Computers. I loved these things! I was one of those who bought a 486DX with a 40MB hard drive for $2300!! By 1994 I was in business with my family. We owned a medium sized mold making shop in southeastern Wisconsin specializing in medium sized tooling for the plastic and die cast industries. I was the self proclaimed “GEEK”. I saw right away the advantages of the CAM system. It was a little while longer (1997 or 1998) that I began to see a bottle neck. In order to obtain more throughputs I needed to work when no one was there.  I needed geometry to machine during the “lights out” periods of the day. Up until about this time CAD systems of any power required there own zip code and infrastructure. They cost a fortune and only the big guys out there had them. In comes Solidworks. An affordable, easy to learn, easy to use, Windows based pc platform, CAD tool. I still remember my first Extruded Boss. It was heaven. Now we had the missing link to lights out machining- rapid production of machinable geometry through the use of a solids based modeler. No more taking 2D prints and drawing them in our CAM system. What a waste of time that was!

Fast forward a blink of the eye (14 years). I kind of carved my nitch in doing mold design and various other computer stuff over the years. I always kept Solidworks at arms length though. Not working on it steadily but always keeping up with it and getting a taste of “What’s New?” every year. In all my years with CAD/CAM software the only one with consistent customer driven enhancements and truly great product releases year after year continues to be Solidworks. Which is why I am here working at CATI. There are things that I could not learn anywhere else. I have been truly blessed to come aboard. I guarantee that I do not have even close to half the answers but Solidworks and my coworkers are only in it to win. In my first week I already know that the word “team” means something here. I look forward to working with as many of you as possible.

Design Better!

Todd A. Werginz

When was the last time you updated your video card drivers?

Anytime there is a major upgrade to Solidworks, it is always a good rule of thumb to make sure your computer is running a tested and recommended graphics card and the most up to date drivers. The first thing you will want to check is what graphics card and driver version you are currently running. The easiest way to do this is to open your Solidworks RX application (located in your list of programs under Solidworks tools). There will be a tab inside the RX window labeled ‘diagnostics’. There it will list the brand name of your card and the driver version you currently have installed.

The next step is to go to:

http://solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html?lsrc=quick_links

Here you will find three pull down menus. The first menu says ‘All Vendors’. In this drop down you can select the brand of graphics card that you are running. If you have a Dell of HP computer you can select to search by your computer brand to see which graphics cards are the best matches for various computer models. The next drop down menu says ‘All Solidworks Versions’. Here you can select 2008 to list only the graphics cards that are approved for Solidworks 2008 and the most up to date drivers. The last drop down menu is ‘All Operating Systems’. Here you can select your operating system (Vista, Vista x64, Win2K, WinXP, WinXP x64). Click the button that says ‘show passing’ and you will get a list of approved graphics cards and driver combinations. Scroll down to find your graphics card or computer model/graphics card combination (depending on what you selected in the first drop down) and compare the driver listed to the driver that is shown in your Solidworks RX diagnostics. If there is a newer version available it is recommended that you download and install this driver.

Staying up to date with your graphics card drivers can help prevent any number of graphics issues and crashing problems while working in Solidworks.

Design Better.

Bria Helgerson

Does your VRML file look jagged?

With the increasing popularity and interest in rapid prototyping, one of the file formats used for the ZCorp printer is VRML.  This file type allows us to print our parts with color, but when you save the part file there is no options to control the quatlity of the file.  This is actually controled by the image quality setting in SolidWorks system options under the document properties.  The higher the image quality the smoother the lines.  Therefore, next time you are printing parts on a ZCorp printer and have a lot of rough edges on your parts check your image quality before saving your VRML file.

Bryan Pawlak,