How to Automate Repeated SOLIDWORKS PDM Tasks With a Script

Every PDM admin has a routine: the Monday cleanup, the end-of-project archive, the ECO setup that always takes the same ten steps. If you run the same commands every week, save them once as a .pdmshell script and let runscript repeat them.

Run a script

# on one file
runscript -source "C:\Vault\Scripts\CreateECO.pdmshell" -filePath "C:\Vault\Parts\1001.sldprt"

# on every file found by a search
runscript -source "C:\Vault\Scripts\CreateECO.pdmshell" -search "Name=%.sldprt" -recursive

# on a list of file and folder IDs
runscript -source "C:\Vault\Scripts\CreateECO.pdmshell" -items "123,45;678,90"

Run it from anywhere

pdmcli.exe recognises a script path and runs it directly, which makes it easy to call from Windows Task Scheduler or another tool:

pdmcli.exe "C:\Vault\Scripts\CreateECO.pdmshell"
pdmcli.exe -edit "C:\Vault\Scripts\CreateECO.pdmshell"

The -edit option opens the script in the PDMShell visual editor without running it.

Why scripts help

• Shared automation lives in one place, not in each admin’s head.
• Placeholders are evaluated for each file you pass in.
• The same script runs from the command line, the visual editor or another script.

Try it on your own vault

Start a free 7-day trial of PDMShell, see plans and pricing, or read the runscript reference. Questions? Book a short call with our team.