Category: SOLIDWORKS2022

SOLIDWORKS 3D offers users a dark and a light theme. To sync your Windows 10 default app mode with SOLIDWORKS 3D, you can use a custom add-in that automatically aligns the theme with your system settings. There is a setting in Windows 10 that automatically turn on or off theme selection in third-party applications. SOLIDWORKS does not use that feature so it’s about time we wrote an article to show how a custom add-in can automatically pick up that Windows setting. First, to turn on or off app theme mode, you need to : Clicking light or dark under “Choose your default app mode” will switch the theme in your applications. A good example is Google Chrome. The source code of the add-in is available on our GitHub. It’s made of two classes: – swAddIn.cs: This is the add-in class. – WindowsThemeManager.cs : This class listens for registry changes when the default app mode values. swAddIn.cs WindowsThemeManager.cs:

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.