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Dispatch has been the go-to way to automate small jobs in SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional for years. It comes with PDM, it needs no programming, and for simple actions it works well. As vaults and teams grow, many admins hit its limits. This article compares Dispatch with PDMShell so you can decide which fits each job.
What Dispatch does well
Dispatch is an add-in included with SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional. Administrators build actions that set data card variables, run file operations and start external applications. Actions can run on demand or automatically, use variables from data cards, files, PDM and Windows, and show dialog boxes to the user. Actions are stored as .acn scripts.
- No extra license, because it ships with PDM Professional.
- Good for short, linear actions such as setting a variable or copying a file.
- Familiar to most resellers and PDM administrators.
Where admins run into limits
- Logic beyond a simple sequence of steps is hard to express in Dispatch actions.
- The Dispatch add-in should match the PDM version and service pack, so it has to be reinstalled after vault upgrades.
- There is no command line to try a step interactively before you build it into an action.
How PDMShell approaches the same jobs
PDMShell is a command line and scripting tool for SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, with a PDM add-in that runs approved scripts inside the vault. You can use it four ways:
- Run a command in the shell for quick navigation, search, variables and cleanup.
- Save a .pdmshell script for repeatable batch work and migrations.
- Build visually in the workflow editor when a guided layout helps.
- Automate inside PDM with the add-in: right-click command menus, PDM tasks and event trigger points.
The add-in can run scripts before or after checkout, check-in, add, delete, rename, move, copy and state change, on folder and label events, on card buttons and on serial numbers. For pre-event triggers, a failing script can cancel the PDM command. Each script has its own permissions (users and groups from the vault) and conditions (and/or groups, variable values, regex, checkout state).
Side by side
| Dispatch | PDMShell | |
|---|---|---|
| Included with PDM Professional | Yes | No, PDMShell Premium is licensed per seat |
| Interactive command line | No | Yes |
| Reusable scripts | .acn action scripts | .pdmshell scripts, visual editor |
| Right-click commands | Yes | Yes, grouped menus such as PDMShell\Rename Files |
| Event triggers | Yes | Before and after file, workflow, folder, label, card and serial number events |
| Runs as a PDM task on task hosts | No | Yes, with scheduling and transitions |
| Permissions and conditions | Yes | Per script: users, groups and condition expressions with and/or groups and regex |
| Bulk operations from CSV | Not built in | Rename, move, set variables, transition and more |
| AI assistants | No | Claude Desktop and Codex through the built-in MCP server |
| Shared licensing | Not needed | License pool managed from the PDM Administration Tool |
Which should you use?
- Keep Dispatch for a simple action that already works.
- Use PDMShell when the logic needs conditions, loops or many files, when you want to test a step in a shell first, or when the job should run as a scheduled PDM task.
- Moving off Dispatch does not have to happen at once. Start with the actions that break most often or that you dread maintaining.
Not sure where to start? Our team regularly reviews existing Dispatch actions and rebuilds the important ones as PDMShell scripts.
Try PDMShell on your vault
Start a free 7-day trial, see plans and pricing, or book a short call and we will look at your Dispatch actions or API project together.
