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Category: SOLIDWORKS

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Amen Jlili

Amen Jlili is the founder and technical director of Blue Byte Systems Inc., a software company in Vancouver, Canada, specializing in automating SOLIDWORKS and PDM.

How to Launch SOLIDWORKS 3D Using the SolidWorks Command Line Arguments

Need to start SOLIDWORKS in a specific set of behaviors or modes? Well… You can with the SOLIDWORKS command line arguments via the sldworks.exe program. Use the arguments as special instructions you pass to SOLIDWORKS just before it launches, telling it exactly how you’d like for it to behave. These arguments don’t always get properly documented, but a decent spot to search for them is in this cadoverflow thread. Warning: they are case-sensitive, so make sure to use the exact capitalization provided. How to Launch SOLIDWORKS with Arguments? It’s quite straightforward. Here are the step-by-step instructions: Useful SOLIDWORKS Command Line Arguments Over the years, several of these arguments have proven to be quite handy. Here are some of them: /r This is a good case for hiding some dialog boxes, especially the ones of the MsgBox type. It can eliminate intrusive pop-ups caused by SldWorks.SendToMsgToUser2 and SldWorks.SendToMsgUser, like the journal warning you get when you have more than one running. This keeps the workflow flowing smoothly without interruption. /m Used to run a macro (.swp). A great feature is that it loads the application without the splash screen, which makes the startup faster. /b This switch runs SOLIDWORKS in batch mode. It’s convenient for some tasks, but be careful because it opens in a very small window. That can be inconvenient for API calls that require a user interface, like ZoomToFit2, so use it only when those specific features aren’t required. /d Programmers will want this argument to begin SOLIDWORKS in developer mode and add an additional menu with additional features. /swlite Do not have to open a model in order to view it? This argument opens SOLIDWORKS in read-only mode. It comes in handy when you are viewing a model and do not want to accidentally change it. Just note that the close window icon (x) is not available with this argument. /SWGenericMainWinTitle This is a cosmetic tweak and is useful. It does not place the year in the DS SOLIDWORKS logo in the sldworks.exe process, which makes it look more generic. /SWDisableExitApp This command can be used to avoid the crash window. It is useful when debugging, and you do not want the crash report pop-up window to interrupt your work. A fair heads up: These are not officially documented or approved by the SOLIDWORKS API team, so use with caution. Finally, even though the SOLIDWORKS command line arguments are not supported officially, they offer a potent way to customize how you launch the application. With the sldworks.exe file and these commands, you can streamline your workflow, automate tasks, and access undocumented functions. Fiddling around with these arguments can help you unlock a more streamlined and customized SOLIDWORKS experience.

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July 12, 2022 9:20 am No Comments October 8, 2025

Export SOLIDWORKS PDM BOMs to XLSX with thumbnails – PDM2Excel

Fed up with having to manually create bills of materials (BOMs) from your SOLIDWORKS PDM vault? You’re not the only one. Manually exporting BOM data into Excel is tedious and prone to errors, especially if you want to include visual context like thumbnails. This is where PDM2Excel helps. Our heavy-duty utility will export your SOLIDWORKS PDM BOMs to XLSX with quick and easy effort. Please keep reading this article to know how to export SolidWorks PDM BOMs to XLSX with thumbnails. The Automation Power of PDM PDM automation isn’t merely about time savings; it’s also about improving accuracy and process simplification. Here’s the picture: your BOMs populated automatically with the right information, such as configuration, quantity, state, and even high-definition thumbnails. It’s an engineer’s, procurement individual’s, and anyone who ever must review and OK a BOM in a hurry’s utopia. With our latest version of PDM2Excel 6, we incorporated an extremely useful feature that exports your PDM BOM with thumbnails to an XLSX file directly. Bye-bye to the pain of screenshotting or copy-and-pasting. How to Export Your PDM BOMs with Thumbnails? To export your PDM BOMs with thumbnails… it can be done directly from the PDM2Excel task setup page, where you have full control of the output. The following are the key settings that have been explained: What’s with This “Save Thumbnail in Excel?” You might be asking yourself, “What is save thumbnail in Excel, and why do I even need it?”. Well… to answer, it’s the process of placing a small graphical preview of a file in your spreadsheet. For a BOM, that equates to having a picture of each part next to its data. That provides you with precious context. Besides, with these thumbnails, identifying parts and detecting possible errors becomes much easier on the eye. An Overview of Open Source PDM Solutions Even though open source PDM SOLIDWORKS solutions are available, they usually require a lot of development and upkeep. On the other hand, PDM2Excel is a solidly developed purpose solution that integrates well into your own SOLIDWORKS PDM infrastructure, with less time and resources remaining for you. Automatically exporting your SOLIDWORKS PDM BOMs to XLSX with thumbnails is the smart move to boost your productivity by a notch and improve data quality. PDM2Excel provides you with the unique, high-powered PDM automation tool necessary to do just that and provide you with clean, readable BOMs every time. Interested in finding out more? Get in touch with us today to organize your API key and see how PDM2Excel can revolutionize your BOM generation process and productivity.

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April 16, 2022 1:21 pm No Comments May 10, 2026

Top 5 reasons to start using PDM2Excel to start exporting PDM BOMs to Excel

Are you using SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional to manage your product’s CAD data, but still missing an essential part of your release process? While your vault tracks changes and updates the Bill of Materials (BOM) for every part, automating the export of that BOM to an Excel (.xlsx) file might still be a challenge. And of you are finally ready to start exporting PDM BOMs to Excel in a reliable, automated way, this approach can streamline the task and make it heppen automatically, without any extra steps. Automating SOLIDWORKS BOM to Excel Export with PDM Imagine being able to automatically export a customized Bill of Materials for a top-level assembly directly to a network drive—ready for your purchasing department or anyone else who needs it—right when you release that assembly. No manual exports, no extra clicks, just a seamless process from design to procurement. With the right tool, like PDM2Excel, you can automate the export of BOM data in a clean, professional Excel format that fits your workflow. Key Features Why Excel Exports Matter for Your SOLIDWORKS PDM Workflow Automatically exporting the BOM to an Excel format helps streamline communication between departments. For example, your purchasing team will always have access to the latest parts-only BOM, ensuring smooth procurement processes without the risk of outdated information. Additionally, automating this task means fewer manual steps in your release process, reducing errors and speeding up workflow. This level of automation is essential for teams that manage large product data sets and want to stay agile in their operations. Optimize Your Workflow with Thumbnails Another feature to consider in your workflow optimization is the use of thumbnails within your exported BOM. Including part thumbnails in your BOM files can help visualize components, improving clarity for teams unfamiliar with the design. This is especially beneficial for non-engineering departments, like procurement, that may need a quick reference for visual identification of parts. Supercharge Your SOLIDWORKS PDM Experience Whether you’re looking to automate the export of SOLIDWORKS BOMs, customize your Excel files, or integrate thumbnails for better clarity, PDM2Excel is the solution that makes it all happen. With PDM2Excel, you can: Take control of your SOLIDWORKS PDM process, reduce manual tasks, and ensure your Bill of Materials is always accurate, complete, and accessible. Optimize your workflow today with PDM2Excel.

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March 27, 2022 3:33 pm No Comments May 10, 2026

New for 2022! SOLIDWORKS PDM API Things You Can Do…They’re pretty cool.

The 2022 release of the SOLIDWORKS PDM profession API did not introduce major changes to the API itself, aside from updates to the PDM web API docs. Even so, these improvements add more flexibility and expand the list of SOLIDWORKS PDM API things you can do, making everyday data management tasks more efficient. 1. You can rename BOM Views You can rename BOM views with PDM Professional 22 SP0.0. The new method is called Rename and is part of the IEdmBomView4 interface. The API help has a straightforward example on how to use it. 2. You can destroy deleted items from a folder You can now destroy files that you have deleted in a folder. Previously, this was not possible with the IEdmFolder12 interface. The interface has been extended by the IEdmFolder13. You can access the docs example here. 3. Serial number counter This is probably the most consequential update. You can now specify the next available counter for a particular serial number using this method. This is particularly useful if you were used to storing your counter in a SQL database. Now, you have control over the next available value. 4. Access to more user settings You can specify some killer user settings from a new interface IEdmUser11::SetSettingsVar. The settings are: EdmUSv_AutoDelete 9 = Whether to automatically delete local read-only files that are not part of the vault; 1 = true, 0 = false; this setting corresponds to the “Automatically delete local read-only files that are not part of the file vault” checkbox on the Explorer tab on the Settings dialog that appears when you click “Settings” on the Properties dialog of a user in the Admin Tool EdmUSv_AutoGetLatest 11 = Whether to always work with the latest version of files; 1 = true, 0 = false; this setting corresponds to the “Always work with the latest version of files” checkbox on the Reference Dialog tab on the Settings dialog that appears when you click “Settings” on the Properties dialog of a user in the Admin Tool EdmUSv_AutoGetLatestRefs 43 = Whether to auto-select reference files to get latest when checking out; 1 = true, 0 = false; this setting corresponds to the “Auto select reference files to get latest when checking out” checkbox on the Reference Dialog tab on the Settings dialog that appears when you click “Settings” on the Properties dialog of a user in the Admin Tool

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January 23, 2022 12:13 pm No Comments May 10, 2026
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