SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [33]
• Recovered Documents. After a crash, auto-recovered documents are listed in this special purpose Task Pane tab.
Getting familiar with the Status bar
The status bar is a nonintrusive way in which SolidWorks communicates information back to the user. It is located at the bottom of the screen, and you can enable it from the View menu. Figure 2.27 shows the status bar in action.
FIGURE 2.27
The status bar showing a tool tip for the Sketch Circle tool
The status bar can display the following information, indicators, and icons:
• Progress as parts, assemblies, or drawings load
• Tool tips for commands
• Measurements
• The sketch status for an active sketch
• In-context editing
• Suspend automatic rebuilds
• Icons that enable you to turn Quick Tips off or on
• The sheet scale for drawings
• The cursor position for drawings and sketches
• Whether you are editing the sheet, sheet format, or view of a drawing
Assigning tags
Tags work like document properties, except that they do not need a property name; they just use a value. A tag could be considered simply a keyword that you can associate with a part in an assembly or even a feature in a part. Tags can be searched by SolidWorks Explorer or by the FeatureManager Filter. You can assign tags by clicking the yellow tag icon on the status bar in the lower-right corner of the SolidWorks window. Figure 2.28 shows a tag being added to a feature.
Making use of Quick Tips
Quick Tips appear in the popup window in the lower-right corner of the graphics window. They can change as you work so that they are sensitive to the context in which you are working. They are a great way for new users or infrequent users to learn or be reminded of the next steps available to them. You can activate and deactivate Quick Tips by clicking the question mark icon in the lower-right corner of the SolidWorks window on the status bar. Figure 2.29 shows the Quick Tips window in action.
FIGURE 2.28
Adding a tag to a feature
FIGURE 2.29
Quick Tips in action
Using SolidWorks Search
You can find SolidWorks Search in the upper-right corner of the SolidWorks application window, on the title bar, as shown in Figure 2.30.
FIGURE 2.30
Accessing SolidWorks Search
SolidWorks Search enables you to search the SolidWorks Help, Knowledge Base, or community forums for information (some of these require an Internet connection and login), as well as look for SolidWorks models on your local or network drives.
Searching for files
The file searches include 3D ContentCentral, SolidWorks Explorer, and SolidWorks Workgroup PDM if it is installed. Figure 2.31 shows the interface for searching for files.
FIGURE 2.31
Using SolidWorks Search to search for files
To configure where SolidWorks is going to search for files, you can use the options at Tools⇒Options⇒File Locations⇒Search Paths. Remember that SolidWorks follows search rules that force it to look in directories that may not be obvious to you, including recent folders where you have saved documents and other directories. You can also select custom properties to search from the drop-down list.
Figure 2.32 shows the result list displayed in the Search tab of the Task pane. This allows you to quickly view the search results along with the filenames to pick out the files you are looking for.
FIGURE 2.32
Browsing search results
Searching for help
SolidWorks Search appears to only work with the Web Help feature. As a result, if you do not have an Internet connection, you cannot access the Help feature through Search, and the KB and forums are also Web based. If you have no Internet connection, just look through the local Help feature manually.
Figure 2.33 shows the results of searching the Knowledge Base for the phrase “installation recommendations.” There are plenty of relevant entries to browse. A similar results window appears if you choose to search the forums.
FIGURE 2.33
Searching