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The second method, which is less risky but less complete, is to go to the main settings locations and use the tools provided to return settings to their defaults. Restart SolidWorks and create a new blank document (you cannot display the Customize dialog box without a document open). To access the resets for the interface, do the following:

1. Choose Tools⇒Options⇒General⇒Reset, and go to the bottom-left area of the dialog box.

2. Choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Toolbars⇒Reset, and go to the bottom-left area of the dialog box.

3. Choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Menus⇒Reset All, and go to the right side of the dialog box.

4. Choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Keyboard⇒Reset to Defaults, and go to the upper-right area of the dialog box.

5. Choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Options; there are two Reset to Defaults buttons along the left side of the dialog box.

Customizing the CommandManager

Now that you have restored the default settings, you can begin customizing the interface with the CommandManager. To do this, open a part document or create a new one, then click the RMB anywhere on the CommandManager, and deselect the Use Large Buttons with Text option, as shown in Figure 2.45. When you have done this, the check mark should no longer appear in front of the option.

FIGURE 2.45

Deselect the Use Large Buttons with Text option.

Next, add some toolbars to CommandManager, as follows:

1. RMB-click the CommandManager tabs and select Customize CommandManager.

2. Click (left-click) the New Tab icon at the right end of the CommandManager tabs and select Surfaces, Sheet Metal, and Annotations. Deselect the Sketch tab by right-clicking it and selecting Hide Tab. The new tab icon is shown in Figure 2.46.

Figure 2.46

Adding tabs to the CommandManager

3. In the Customize dialog box, select the Large Icons option.

4. Turn the Sketch toolbar on, but not inside the CommandManager; use the Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box. Dock the Sketch toolbar to the right side of the window.

5. Select the Standard Views toolbar and drag it to the right end of the CommandManager. Now drag a couple of buttons off it, such as the bottom, or left, or back views.

6. On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, select the Flyout toolbars entry, and drag any Flyout toolbars from the Customize dialog box to the Menu Bar toolbar. Figure 2.47 shows this step in action.

Figure 2.47

Adding flyouts to the Menu Bar toolbar

7. With the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box still active, click on the View Category.

8. Add or remove tools until this toolbar has the tools you want to use on it. If you want to deselect the Heads-UP View toolbar, activate the Toolbars tab in Customize, and deselect the View (Heads-Up) option.

9. Run your cursor over the main menu flyout and use the pushpin to pin the menu open.

10. Choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Options and select both Show All buttons for Shortcut customization and Menu customizations. This removes the double arrows at the bottoms of RMB menus. This setting is shown in Figure 2.48.

Figure 2.48

Removing truncated menus

11. While still in the Customize dialog box, change to the Toolbars tab and deselect the Context Toolbar Settings⇒Show In Shortcut Menu option to disable the right-click context toolbar to put the RMB menus back to their pre-2008 state (all entries in menu use text).

12. Click and drag the PropertyManager tab (second tab from the left) from the FeatureManager, and dock it just to the right of the FeatureManager under the CommandManager tabs. The display should now look like Figure 2.49.

Figure 2.49

The customized SolidWorks interface

The small flyout in the lower-right corner of Figure 2.49 is the remainder of the Sketch toolbar that does not fit on the screen. This screen shot was taken on a monitor with large icons at 1024 × 768 resolution. At such a low resolution, long toolbars do not fit on the screen, and the remaining icons