Solidworks Disable Add Ins

[Eri Pfaff]

Commonlyused Add-Ins, such as SOLIDWORKS Toolbox Library or SOLIDWORKS PDM, may be enabled every time SOLIDWORKS launches. Others, such as SOLIDWORKS Simulation or SOLIDWORKS CAM, may only be used very rarely and enabled only when needed.

You can also access the Add-Ins in the SOLIDWORKS CommandManager by turning on the SOLIDWORKS Add-Ins tab. Note, enabling Add-Ins on the Command manager only enables the Add-In for the current session.

As each of the SOLIDWORKS Add-Ins requires additional memory and other computer resources, it is strongly recommended to only enable Add-Ins when required, leaving them disabled during general SOLIDWORKS usage.

Some Add-Ins also consume different licenses. If your SOLIDWORKS licenses are on a shared SolidNetWork License Manager (SNL) with different license types, then you may not want to activate certain licenses on Start Up that are used rarely or need shares, since the Add-ins will consume the required license each time you start SOLIDWORKS.

If you did not install a SOLIDWORKS add-in as part of your initial installation, or if you recently upgrade your license/purchasing new add-in functionality, you can modify your SOLIDWORKS installation to include those add-ins. Once the modification is complete, the add-ins will be available to be enabled.

Craig Sink

Mechanical Engineer

Force Design, Inc.

www.forcedesign.biz Replies continue belowRecommended for youconst urltitle=document.getElementsByTagName("title")[0];urlin = urltitle.innerHTML;urlout=urlin.substring(0, urlin.length - 11);console.log(urlout);new MoreLikeThis( text: [urlout], pubCodes: ["ENGCOM"], include: postTypes: ["post"], limit: 4 ,); RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" PDMAdmin (Mechanical)3 Jan 07 18:45You can disable FeatureXpert under "System Options" but I'm not aware of a way to disable MateXpert. RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" cwsink (Automotive)(OP)4 Jan 07 09:11That's all I found myself....bummer!

Any tips to acclimating to this new wonderful feature? Craig Sink

Mechanical Engineer

Force Design, Inc.

www.forcedesign.biz RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" SBaugh (Mechanical)5 Jan 07 13:38There is not away to shut this option off in an assembly. Looked in the help and the resources that I have and can't find a way to shut this option down.

Regards, Scott Baugh, CSWP

www.scottjbaugh.com

FAQ731-376 RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" CorBlimeyLimey (Mechanical)5 Jan 07 15:38Do you need to shut it down?

Can you just not use it? RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" cwsink (Automotive)(OP)8 Jan 07 08:19Cory,

Not sure how I'd just "not used it". If you flip a mate's alignment, the MateXpert functionality will correct any conflicts automatically. That's what is giving me fits.

Craig Sink

Mechanical Engineer

Force Design, Inc.

www.forcedesign.biz RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" CorBlimeyLimey (Mechanical)8 Jan 07 12:50I shouldn't have tempted fate and asked that question!

Till this morning I had not experienced the problem you described. A couple of times when a mate problem had surfaced, I was asked if I wanted to use MateXpert. I did once just to try it and it worked fine. The other time I declined because I could see that it would be a very simple manual fix.

However, this morning I replaced a part in an assy and all sorts of mate problems showed up. I was not given an option to use MateXpert so proceeded to fix manually. First "fix" created a nightmare of flipped parts and rapidly got worse.

My solution turned out to be very simple. Instead of replacing, I just deleted the part and inserted the new one. RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" PDMAdmin (Mechanical)8 Jan 07 13:20Yeesh... that doesn't sound promising. I always thought assembly mating functionality in SW left quite a bit to be desired, but it sounds like MateXpert makes that situation even worse. RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" cwsink (Automotive)(OP)8 Jan 07 13:27There needs be to some kind of control over which mate is "fixed" if the user creates a conflict. Random selection (at least it appears that way) is NOT an effective solution. I've even had the MateXpert flip a mate's alignment rather than flip the part 180 degrees even though there were only 2 mates on that part!?! Minimum, there needs to be some consistency on which types of mates change first or something. Or at least the option to not use it. Craig Sink

Mechanical Engineer

Force Design, Inc.

www.forcedesign.biz RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" SolidAir (Mechanical)8 Jan 07 21:39This has been a problem with us too. I talked with a SolidWorks rep who said he would get back to me. I will post anything I find out.

SA RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" dogarila (Mechanical)10 Jan 07 08:34I was ready to install SW2007 but I changed my mind after reading the answers in this thread. What I find here is really scary. RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" cwsink (Automotive)(OP)10 Jan 07 08:38I wouldn't say its scary...for the most part. And I wouldn't say that this makes this release worse than 2006. However, it is a good thing to be aware of. You'll learn to work with it, but it can be frustrating and time consuming. I'm not trying to sway your opinion one way or the other, but I wouldn't let this one thing keep you from installing 2007. However, if there are other reasons, that's fine too.

Just thought I'd clarify... Craig Sink

Mechanical Engineer

Force Design, Inc.

www.forcedesign.biz RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" CorBlimeyLimey (Mechanical)10 Jan 07 09:02dogarila ... the mate problem is really very minor. So far the problems I've had were very easy to fix. The first time threw me a bit because I wasn't expecting it. The second time was a piece of cake. I suppressed all the "in conflict" mates in the sub-assy,except for the one causing the problem, flipped that one, then unsuppressed the others. The solutions will vary with how the assy is mated.

This is definitely NOT a show stopper. As I mentioned earlier, I had not experienced any problems till I tempted fate and responded in this thread. RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" CorBlimeyLimey (Mechanical)12 Jan 07 09:10This may also help when dealing with Mate problems;

_Mate_Issues.html RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" SolidAir (Mechanical)12 Jan 07 16:28CorBlimeyLimey,

I hope Mate callouts work better in the released version than they did in the beta version.

SA RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" smcadman (Mechanical)12 Jan 07 16:44I guess somehow I am not using the mate expert because I still get the error icons and the plus symbol.

No Mate Xpert

SW07 SP2.0 Flores RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" CorBlimeyLimey (Mechanical)12 Jan 07 18:57If you RMB click on any of those "problem" mates you should see an option to activate Mate XPert RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" smcadman (Mechanical)13 Jan 07 17:16Quote (PDMAdmin):I'm not aware of a way to disable MateXpert.Quote (Sbaugh):There is not away to shut this option off in an assembly.Quote (CBL):If you RMB click on any of those "problem" mates you should see an option to activate Mate XPert I fixed them manually, but if I RMB-click to activate Mate Xpert, you would think there is a way to de-activate it. dogarila is discouraged to install 2007, but if Mate Xpert isn't automatic, then it's the wrong reason NOT to install it.

SW07 SP2.0 Flores RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" CorBlimeyLimey (Mechanical)13 Jan 07 18:10In previous versions, if the flipping or changing of a mate caused other mates to be in conflict, an error message was given to the user and they decided how to proceed.

But now;

[quote SW Whats New]During editing, the software changes the alignment of related mates automatically if necessary to prevent introducing mate errors.[quote]

So it appears to be using some of the "intelligence" of the MateXpert, but without opening the MateXpert dialogue box. RE: Disable "Mate Xpert" kellnerp (Mechanical)4 Mar 07 15:42I was doing a demo of best mating practices and got spaghetti sauce all over my shirt. I had two fully mated channels and since I was editing old mates when I unsuppressed the next mate one of my channels flipped upside down and end for end putting the next component on the wrong end of the frame. TOP

www.engtran.com

The Customer Request Corner section of the CATI Tech Notes Blog was introduced last month by Computer Aided Technology (CATI). Most of the topics that the CATI Technical Services team blogs about are common issues that are dealt with in Technical Support. Customer's now how a chance to tell us what they would like to see blogged about. These are some of the questions that came in about the same issue:

All three questions above are related to one of the new features in SOLIDWORKS 2016, which is called Instant2D. According to the Help file, you can use Instant2D to dynamically manipulate sketch dimensions in sketch mode. You can click a dimension and quickly edit its values without opening Modify Dimension dialog box for resetting the geometry.

So, this new feature makes it possible to use a single click to edit a sketch dimension. I will let you decide if this new feature is useful, but since it was turned on by default in SOLIDWORKS 2016, things do not work the same as they use to right out of the box. So, in SOLIDWORKS 2016, how do you disable the use of a single mouse click to edit a sketch dimension?

Do you want your question to appear in next month's Customer Request Corner blog series? Simply email Technica...@cati.com with the subject "Customer Request Corner." Each month we will choose one of the topics submitted.

Are you tired of seeing the pink funnel icon in SOLIDWORKS? This feature is intended to be helpful, but it can quickly become annoying when you do not need or want to use it. Fortunately, there are several ways to get rid of this pesky icon and reclaim your workspace. In this article, we will provide tips and tricks to disable the pink funnel icon in SOLIDWORKS so that you can focus on your designs without any distractions.

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