SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [25]
The final setting for the CommandManager appearance is the size of the icons. You have control over the size of the icon images in the CommandManager. You can find this setting in the Customize dialog box (Tools⇒Customize), and it is shown in the upper-right side of Figure 2.7. The difference between large and small icons is shown in the lower part of the figure.
This setting applies to all the toolbar icons except the Menu Bar, RMB menu, and Context Bar icons. The setting does apply to the S shortcut toolbar and the Heads-up View toolbar, which I discuss later in this section. Large icons can be useful on displays with very high resolution, in particular on laptops where the screen itself may be small but the resolution is very high. All the screen shots in this book are taken with the Large Icons option turned on for improved visibility. There is often a small difference between the appearance of the large and small icons, aside from size.
Recognizing the limitations of the CommandManager
If you undock the CommandManager, you cannot reorient the tabs horizontally. They remain vertical. In addition, you cannot place multiple rows of toolbars on the same row as a CommandManager using large buttons with text. You cannot dock the CommandManager to the bottom of the SolidWorks window. Another minor limitation is that although SolidWorks enables you to place toolbars at the right end of the CommandManager as well as above it, it does not allow you to place them to the left of the CommandManager or below it.
FIGURE 2.7
Setting large icons
Using toolbars
The point of the CommandManager is to enable you to have many toolbars available to you in a single click, with the main goals being organization and saving space. SolidWorks is a complex program, with a sprawling interface. The CommandManager does a good job of making most of it available to you quickly without taking up a lot of space. Unfortunately, when you save one thing, you usually wind up giving up something else. Interface setup is frequently about compromise or balancing conflicting concerns. In the case of the CommandManager, the compromise is between screen space, mouse travel, and clicks. You may find yourself clicking frequently back and forth between the Sketch and Features tabs. For this reason, in my interface setup, I put the Sketch toolbar vertically on the right side of the graphics window and remove it from the CommandManager. This enables me to see the Sketch and Features toolbars at the same time and greatly reduces the number of times I have to click back and forth between the CommandManager tabs.
The SolidWorks interface performs best with some customization. No two people set it up exactly the same, but everyone needs some adjustment because they might be working on specialized functionality such as molds or surfacing, or they might work with limited functionality, such as predominantly revolved features. Of course, customization can also accommodate personal preferences, for example, if one user prefers to use hotkeys and another uses menus or even the S key.
You can enable and disable toolbars in several ways. To enable a toolbar, right-click in a toolbar area and you will be presented with a list of toolbars in SolidWorks. Another way to do this is to use the Customize dialog box by choosing Tools⇒Customize, or the Customize option near the bottom of the RMB toolbar list. Yet another way is to choose View⇒Toolbars.
Exploring the Heads-up View toolbar
The Heads-up View toolbar appears along the middle of the top edge of the graphics window. Figure 2.8 shows the default arrangement of the Heads-up View toolbar, and it is shown in relation to the rest of the interface in Figure 2.1.
FIGURE 2.8
The Heads-up View toolbar
You can customize the Heads-up View toolbar by using the Toolbars dialog box (Tools⇒Customize⇒Toolbars). Customization includes turning the Heads-up View toolbar on or off and adding or removing buttons.