How to customize commands in Solid Works

By using SOLIDWORKS keyboard shortcuts, you may create more quickly in one of the simplest methods possible. You won't have to waste time looking for instructions in the toolbar thanks to the SOLIDWORKS keyboard shortcuts. Also, you may design unique shortcuts depending on the features and actions you use the most.

How to programme your own SOLIDWORKS keyboard shortcuts

Recommendation: Only create shortcuts for commands that you often use.

1. Open a document and choose Tools.
2. Choose Customize.
3. Decide on the Keyboard tab.
4. If a command you often use doesn't have a shortcut, click it.
5. Create a unique shortcut.
   For instance: Click the Parabola command in the chart if you frequently utilize parabola in your designs. Type your preferred shortcut here (e.g., P).
6. If you input a shortcut that already exists, you'll receive an error notice. This is erasable if you so want. To complete and save, select OK.

How to modify SOLIDWORKS keyboard shortcuts

1. Open a document and choose Tools.
2. Choose Customize.
3. Decide on the Keyboard tab.
4. To alter the keyboard shortcut, click on it.
5. Create a new unique shortcut.
6. If you input a shortcut that already exists, you'll receive an error notice. This is erasable if you want.
7. To complete and save, select OK.

What mouse movements are used in SOLIDWORKS?

Up to 12 customized shortcut instructions may be accessed utilizing mouse gestures with a single right-click and drag action. If a certain SOLIDWORKS keyboard exists Customizing this wheel is a terrific method to boost productivity and save time if you have any shortcuts or go-to tools.

The SOLIDWORKS mouse button customization process

1. Go to the Command Ribbon's Tools tab.
2. Choose Customize.
3. The Mouse Gestures tab should be chosen.
4. A command can be assigned to a location on the mouse gesture guide by enabling or disabling mouse gestures and selecting the number of gestures from 2 to 12.
5. To add a command to the Gesture Wheel, drag it from the command list onto the space on the wheel.

Using the S shortcut

You may access and modify other keyboard shortcuts in SOLIDWORKS by using the S keyboard shortcut. With just a few clicks of the mouse, the user may access common instructions thanks to the shortcut.

1. Your keyboard's S key will cause a shortcut box to appear. There are four modes available in the shortcut box: part editing, assembly, drawing, and sketching.
2. Drag the command into the shortcut box to add tools to your S Shortcut box. As soon as a command is chosen or you click anywhere else on the SOLIDWORKS display, the box will vanish. Based on the tools and commands you use most frequently; you may adjust each of the four settings.

What is the quickest method for learning keyboard shortcuts for SOLIDWORKS?

1. A cheat sheets. To remember keyboard shortcuts for SOLIDWORKS, use a cheat sheet.

NO CHARGE Cheat Sheet Free SOLIDWORKS Keyboard Shortcuts pdf download.

2. WEebsites that provide flashcards. Online flashcard services like Anki make it simple and effective to remember shortcuts. If you recall the card correctly, it will space out the time until you see the flashcard again. It employs spaced repetition to make new keyboard shortcuts more common. Enter the SOLIDWORKS keyboard shortcuts list into the application to get started, and then start learning.

3. Make a list of several quick cuts on a sticky note. The memo should be stuck on your computer screen. The sticky note should remain on your screen until you have learned the shortcuts by heart. After you have mastered every SOLIDWORKS keyboard shortcut that applies to you, go on to another set of shortcuts and repeat the procedure.

Customize Keyboard

On the Customize dialogue box's Keyboard tab, you may define shortcut keys.

Changing shortcut keys:

1. Open a document, then choose Tools > Customize from the menu or right-click anywhere on the window border and choose Customize.
2. Decide on the Keyboard tab.

Category: Shows All Commands, one of the primary menus, or others depending on the category. Others include relations, design tree instructions in Feature Manager, orientations, etc. Tools display shortcuts for macro icons.

Show: Controls how instructions from the specified category are displayed.

Search For: As you type, look for Filters the Command field.

List in Print: To print the chosen list with columns for Category, Command, and Shortcut, click to launch the Microsoft Print Setup dialogue box (s).

Copy List: Click copy the currently chosen list to the clipboard so that you may paste it into Word or Excel documents.

Reset to Defaults: the default setting restores the default system keyboard settings.

Eliminate shortcut eliminates the chosen shortcut.

Identify Shortcuts

1. Choose a command.
2. Press a key or a set of keys.

A notice lets you know whether a shortcut key has already been allocated. The shortcut for the new command is taken away from the old command if you choose to utilize it.

Uppercase letters are shown.

Caps Lock does not indicate Shift while using keyboard shortcuts, and it has no effect on them.

The Escape command can have a keyboard shortcut assigned to it so that a different key or key combination can execute it in the same way as the Esc key. The Esc key's functionality is not changed by this assignment. If you use your left hand to operate the mouse, assigning a keyboard shortcut to the Escape key on the right side of the keyboard might be helpful.

Recommendation: Choose a function key from F1 to F12 since they will operate even if a dialog's text field gets the focus. While a text field has the focus, other keystrokes do not dismiss the dialogue because the SOLIDWORKS programme perceives them as text entering.

What Do I Do First?

To go to the commands for customization:

Resources >> Customize

Right-click a blank area in Command Manager and choose Customize...

A dialogue window with seven tabs will appear:

• Toolbars
• Cut-off bars
• Commands
• Menus Mouse gestures Keyboard
• Customization
• Tab Toolbars

If you've used other CAD programmes, toolbars might be more familiar to you than the Command Manager tabs at the top of SOLIDWORKS.

Here, you may disable the Command Manager and switch on/off the various SOLIDWORKS toolbars. When a toolbar is activated, it may be moved by clicking and dragging the row of dots, as seen below.

Cut-off Bars Tab

Amazing shortcut bars exist! This is why:

• Context-sensitive: There are different ones for parts, assemblies, drawings, and sketches.
• You get complete control over the orders.
• Accessible at any moment with the "S" Key.

To include a custom command:

1. Choosing the command toolbar.
2. Choose the relevant Shortcut Bar from the Component, Assembly, Drawing, or Sketch options.
3. Onto the Shortcut Bar, drag the command.
4. Under the Keyboard Shortcuts section, look up the command if you don't know the icon.
5. Choose OK.

Tab Commands

Command Manager for SOLIDWORKS

The Command Manager/Ribbon Menu is a great method to get quick access to all your commands without having to scroll through a tone of icons. What happens if the command you require isn't available on the pre-selected tabs?

By right clicking a tab and choosing a new one from the list, you may always add or remove new tabs.

Creating a new tab:

1. New Tab will open.
2. Choose a toolbar to start with or "Empty Tab" to create a new tab.
3. The command should be dropped upon the bill.
4. Setting parameters with a right-click command.

Menus Tab

You may specify precisely which instructions and where they are in the programme pull-down lists using this tab. It's normally advised that you leave this alone so that you easily locate infrequent instructions when you need them.

Typewriter Tab

SOLIDWORKS offers several keyboard shortcuts. In certain instances, you might want to modify them or add your own.

To modify or include a fresh shortcut:

1. Look for the command. (If required, use search.)
2. In the shortcut area, click.
3. Choose the proper key or key combination by pressing it.

Here, you can also set up search shortcuts. These are abbreviated search terms for commands and typing them into the command search box will instantly send you there.

Mouse Movements Tab

One of the simplest and most adaptable methods to speed up your productivity is via mouse gestures.

1. Here are some suggestions for personalization:
2. Size, trimming, and sketch entities for circles, lines, and rectangles
3. Patterns, Measure, and Draft
4. Drawings - Dimension Types, View Creation Tools, Insert Component, Mates, Assemblies, Insert Component, Patterns

Tab for Customization

In some circumstances, you might wish to start over with a clean install's default settings. Clicking "Reset to Defaults" on this tab will enable you to accomplish that.

Your Settings Are Saved

Finally, it might be challenging to return to the default UI after extensively altering your settings. As a result, making a backup of your settings file is a smart idea. You'll employ the Copy Settings Wizard to do this.

1. Visit the Help page >> Restore/Save Settings
2. Click "Next >" after selecting "Save Settings."
3. Decide where to save the file. Keeping this with your other customized SOLIDWORKS data is a smart idea.
4. After making your selections, click "Finish."

By accessing the same programme and choosing the "Restore Settings" option, you may now always restore the stored settings.

The Best Five Modification Methods for SOLIDWORKS

There are only 24 hours in a day, and time is the single resource we cannot increase. But there are ways to utilize your time more effectively. Making SOLIDWORKS work for you is the greatest method to do this for engineers and designers.

How do you go about that? Simple-personalize it! SOLIDWORKS may be customized to function exactly how you want it to. The amount of time that customizing can save is astounding. This may be expanded to start automating the design process rather than just modifying it.

Consider customization as necessary for effectiveness.

1. SOLIDWORKS Customization

Let's first examine how to begin modifying SOLIDWORKS. With SOLIDWORKS, there are several methods to locate the "Customize" option. These are the three fastest methods:

• To the settings drop-down menu, click.
• Anywhere on the Command Manager, right-click (including the menu tabs).
• Heads-up display: Right-click it.

From this point, you may customize the interface's appearance. To add a command to the interface, just locate the one you need and drag it there. Both the Command Manager and the heads-up display function as intended.

With the inclusion of a search bar in SOLIDWORKS 2021, finding the command you're searching for is now much easier. Users can add, delete, or rearrange the instructions at this point. The personalized menu is where you need to be. If it has an icon, anything may be added to the user interface.

You might think of this as the customize menu putting you in a customization "mode" where you can change the commands.

Two methods exist for "customizing on the fly." The first is to find a command using the command search located in the interface's upper right corner and then drag it into the Command Manager. The second method involves holding down the Alt key while dragging icons around the Command Manager.

2. Cut-off Bars (The S-Key)

With the help of the shortcut bars, you may quickly access commands since they can appear next to your cursor. This is crucial since working quickly is made possible by having the commands close at hand and minimizing mouse movement.

You need to be employing shortcut bars if you're seeking a technique to accelerate you're modelling. By hitting the S-Key, you may quickly access the customizable shortcut bars that give a list of commands. The orders are now directed to your mouse.

With the concentric hole added to the portion shown below, all mouse movements are visible even without a shortcut bar. Mouse mileage is the term for this. Your modelling speed is increased when you reduce this.

Take advantage of the shortcut bars to model more quickly. Shortcut bars are plural; take note of that. This is since there is a distinct bar for each of the several modelling contexts, including sketches, parts, assemblies, and drawings. To put it another way, you can have a varied set of commands available to you for various kinds of modelling scenarios after configuring the S-Key.

Remember the picture from this section's introduction, the one with what appears to be red crayon scribbles all over it? Compare that to the mouse mileage graph below, which shows how using the S-Key allows for precise modelling that reduces mouse travel and, ultimately, saves time.

But if you take the time to personalize it and fit it to your workflow, it will be extremely helpful. With SOLIDWORKS 2021 specifically, this is simple to accomplish.

1. Activate the "customization mode" (See tip 1 above).
2. Look for commands (New to SOLIDWORKS 2021).
3. To add a command to the shortcut bar, drag and drop it.

It should come as no surprise that SOLIDWORKS power users prefer the shortcut bar. As many commands as you like can be added. The sole drawback is that using it necessitates using two hands, one for the keyboard and the other for the mouse. Look into mouse movements if you're after modelling speed with just one hand.

3. Mouse Movements

By employing mouse motions, users may model with a simple flick of the wrist. Another option for customizing SOLIDWORKS is mouse gestures, which function similarly to shortcut bars but are triggered by the mouse.

Mouse movements open a wheel of instructions instead of a square palette of commands, with a different wheel available for each of the four modelling modes.

To use this gesture wheel, follow these three steps:

1. Right-click, hold, and jiggle or move your mouse slightly.
2. Use your mouse to move in the prescribed direction.
3. By swiping over the command, you may activate it.

It's that easy. You won't even notice the gesture wheel once you become used to utilizing mouse movements.

The same customization option that is displayed in tip 1 may also be used to set up mouse motions. Just choose the "Mouse Gestures" tab in customizing mode. The number of motions on the wheel may be modified to 2, 3, 4, 8, or 12.

Drag and drop the instructions to the correct spot to add them to the wheel. Drag instructions around the wheel to reposition them. Using mouse motions automatically and only swiping to execute commands are two techniques to significantly speed up modelling.

It goes without saying that you need to be familiar with where the instructions are located on the gesture wheel, which necessitates either practicing only with the gesture wheel or printing off a gesture wheel guide to have about as a convenient reference to help you remember the commands.

Adding commonly used instructions, such "okay" or "cancel," to the wheel in the same location for each of the four modes can help you remember where they are.

My two preferred methods for modifying the SOLIDWORKS interface are the shortcut bars and mouse gestures. When it comes to tailoring SOLIDWORKS to your needs, they provide an unparalleled level of flexibility and usability.

4. Macros

With SOLIDWORKS, users may automate processes by using macros to carry out bespoke actions. The engine that powers macro recording, execution, and editing is Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The simplest approach to construct a macro is to stay in SOLIDWORKS and record it there, however you may make one use a VBA editor outside of SOLIDWORKS.

By just pressing the record button, SOLIDWORKS will record your actions, clicks, and commands in order.

Consider recording some of the time-consuming, repetitive actions you perform during the day in SOLIDWORKS. Let's see how to automate the process of drilling a 50 mm (about 1.97 in) hole as an example.

It's easy, as you can see in the video; all you must do is push the record button and model as usual. SOLIDWORKS is documenting every stage of the production process. To activate this macro, you may then add a button to your Command Manager, shortcut bars, or mouse gestures.

5. Customizations are saved

After customizing SOLIDWORKS, you'll want those changes to be compatible with other machines or the upcoming SOLIDWORKS upgrade.

Some users find it difficult to operate on a system other than their own since they have grown accustomed to their modifications and shortcuts. You may transfer all your SOLIDWORKS settings, including modifications, to another installation by using the Copy Settings Wizard.

Use the Copy Settings Wizard, which may be accessed within SOLIDWORKS or as a separate programme from the Windows Start Menu to both save and load settings.

This utility generates alder files that may be stored for quick access on a USB device or in the cloud. Power users usually keep them in a location with easy access to their settings so they may always feel comfortable modelling wherever they are.

These are the prerequisites for using SOLIDWORKS effectively after customization. Use these five SOLIDWORKS tools to get started modelling more quickly and with more time in the day. In addition to changing the interface to make SOLIDWORKS function as you see fit, you can go one step further and automate processes to make SOLIDWORKS work for you.

Use the shortcut bars, mouse gestures, and macros if you wish to use SOLIDWORKS to its full potential. When everything is set up, use the Copy Settings Wizard to take a picture of your modifications.