Solidworks Explorer - Does anyone really miss it?

[TRKemp]

I'm upgrading the office soon from 2019 SP5 , to 2020 SP5 since I've learned to lag about a year behind on versions in the event there a service pack that has allot of issues. With that, we'll be following in line with those who no longer have access to Explorer.

Has anyone run into an instance where this really created a problem for them? From what I can tell, moving it to the menu shouldn't create too many downsides, however I did like using explorer to repair broken references that sometimes arose from doing Pack and Go functions that had suppressed components within them. We use alot of virtual components here, and the Pack and Go has been notorious for not treating those items kindly and losing track of its temporary file location. Thus when you open the assembly in your new location, those parts have gone missing. Using the "Save As" with references as a follow up operation was a work around to this, but the downside is those suppressed components weren't making the trip.

I'm hoping if I run into this circumstance in 2020, I'll still be able to repair those references easily.

Thanks for your feedback, and also .. it's nice to be on a CAD forum you can actually navigate!

[Frederick_Law]

There was one? It was gone?
No idea

[Roasted By John]

I don't miss it..

[TRKemp]

There was one? It was gone?
No idea

There was!

image.png (169.8 KiB) Viewed 5259 times

[Arthur McR]

I've missed it a couple times. If your project has multiple windows explorer folder levels and you don't have all the referencing assemblies open the internalized tools don't see the extra assemblies. Previously if you knew there was a folder that contained referencing assemblies you could simply point the Solidworks Explorer there. But this is something I've only ran into twice in the last 6 months not not exactly a common occurrence.

[SPerman]

I don't miss it, but I don't like the new "file open" interface. (I think it changed when they took away solidworks explorer. Maybe it's been this way longer than that.)

(This is a GIF.)

[TRKemp]

I've missed it a couple times. If your project has multiple windows explorer folder levels and you don't have all the referencing assemblies open the internalized tools don't see the extra assemblies. Previously if you knew there was a folder that contained referencing assemblies you could simply point the Solidworks Explorer there. But this is something I've only ran into twice in the last 6 months not not exactly a common occurrence.

Yeah, I thought at a minimum that you could at least see all of the references associated with each part or assembly up front so you knew if you needed to re-associate something. I imagine I'll be in a similar situation where it won't need addressed often, but it will be frustrating when it happens and there's a way I used to be able to resolve it easily but now - no dice.

[TRKemp]

I don't miss it, but I don't like the new "file open" interface. (I think it changed when they took away solidworks explorer. Maybe it's been this way longer than that.)

(This is a GIF.)

file.gif

This always puzzled me. Opening a file is the most basic operation and they've invented about 15 different ways to query what you want to find for just (3) different file types. It's become very convoluted..

[Frederick_Law]

This always puzzled me. Opening a file is the most basic operation and they've invented about 15 different ways to query what you want to find for just (3) different file types. It's become very convoluted..

And they haven't nail it down yet.
So you'll see another 1251 ways.

[AlexLachance]

And they haven't nail it down yet.
So you'll see another 1251 ways.

Go figure, you go over there and ask them how to view where a picture you've uploaded was used in order to locate that specific post, and the answer they give you is how to add a description to a picture.

[Frederick_Law]

Barking up the wrong tree.
Pissing in the wrong SwYmP.

[JMOS4]

Hi,

Still on 2019, but curious, can you rename files in explorer as that was the only function I used that was part of Solidworks explorer, been a long while since I used that directly

Also do you still have the option of changing a reference on a drawing or assembly

Regards,
Jim

[TRKemp]

Hi,

Still on 2019, but curious, can you rename files in explorer as that was the only function I used that was part of Solidworks explorer, been a long while since I used that directly

image.png


Also do you still have the option of changing a reference on a drawing or assembly

image.png

Regards,
Jim

Renaming files will be the same in 2020 - you'll just only have access to the RMB menu that you show in your first pic and no explorer as a second option.

Changing references should be possible as well with the "replace" function, but the real downside to me is that you can't see the "full path" structure that you could in explorer - so your not really sure if there's a reference that exists that may need to be re-associated to the model you want to point it too. However ...

It seems to me you'll have to use a combination of the RMB menu & the References button - One to change or replace the location and one to view the references associated with the model or drawing.

[zxys001]

I'm upgrading the office soon from 2019 SP5 , to 2020 SP5 since I've learned to lag about a year behind on versions in the event there a service pack that has allot of issues. With that, we'll be following in line with those who no longer have access to Explorer.

Has anyone run into an instance where this really created a problem for them? From what I can tell, moving it to the menu shouldn't create too many downsides, however I did like using explorer to repair broken references that sometimes arose from doing Pack and Go functions that had suppressed components within them. We use alot of virtual components here, and the Pack and Go has been notorious for not treating those items kindly and losing track of its temporary file location. Thus when you open the assembly in your new location, those parts have gone missing. Using the "Save As" with references as a follow up operation was a work around to this, but the downside is those suppressed components weren't making the trip.

I'm hoping if I run into this circumstance in 2020, I'll still be able to repair those references easily.

Thanks for your feedback, and also .. it's nice to be on a CAD forum you can actually navigate!

I miss it but I don't bcuz it was so darn slow (it could have been so much better, but alas). as mentioned, most is there within explorer.

[Frederick_Law]

I usually do renaming in SW assembly.
When you change the name in the tree, it could change the filename also.
From there, you could search for "where used", ie other assembly and drawing which used that file.

[Jim Steinmeyer]

Like @zxys001 I kind of miss it but rarely used it because I would open it and go for a cup of coffee while I waited. It was nice to be able to find all of the where used locations but because of the slow operation I have found workarounds for anything else you could have done with it.

[DennisD]

Like @zxys001 I kind of miss it but rarely used it because I would open it and go for a cup of coffee while I waited. It was nice to be able to find all of the where used locations but because of the slow operation I have found workarounds for anything else you could have done with it.

Same here. I liked it, but not its slow speed, so I haven't used it in years. Honestly I didn't even know it was gone.

I always wondered why it didn't run an indexing in the background and update as you made changes, but then I'm just an engineer and logical questions like that are not allowed.

[TRKemp]

Seems like the consensus based on the small sample size here is that I'll probably run into a few instances where it could have been helpful, but I won't notice 99% of the time. Hopefully the instances that make it a necessity in the first place get fixed in future versions... we will see.

[Jeremy Feist]

haven't used it since 2011 - when we launched PDM

[Glenn Schroeder]

I usually do renaming in SW assembly.
When you change the name in the tree, it could change the filename also.
From there, you could search for "where used", ie other assembly and drawing which used that file.

Same here, but like with so many SW enhancements, I was frustrated by the implementation. Why didn't they extend that feature to allow re-naming Parts and Assemblies from a Drawing?

That's one I don't think ever made it to the 5% threads started by @Alin on the old forum.

[Bibotac]

I found it so slow, that I preferred to create my own which uses an index.
And with time I added a lot of other functions

• batch rename

• Batch rename from Excel

• Batch print

• Bach export

• ...

https://sites.google.com/site/bibotacconcept

[Bradfordzzz]

I found it so slow, that I preferred to create my own which uses an index.
And with time I added a lot of other functions

• batch rename

• Batch rename from Excel

• Batch print

• Bach export

• ...

https://sites.google.com/site/bibotacconcept

Use this quite often. Works Great. I like it far better than Solidworks explorer.
Its faster, and has more options. and Joel is very helpful in its use, and adding even more functionality.

[Frederick_Law]

Same here, but like with so many SW enhancements, I was frustrated by the implementation. Why didn't they extend that feature to allow re-naming Parts and Assemblies from a Drawing?

That's one I don't think ever made it to the 5% threads started by @Alin on the old forum.

Working on 1000 parts import for a few weeks.
Looks like customer did it in multibody. We get a weldment and a machined assembly.
Import result in 2 part files.
Saving the bodies out give import1.sldprt to import1000.sldprt
So I use PnG to change all the filenames so they don't replace each other.

Some features are only 5% implemented.

[Tom G]

I rarely use SWx Explorer. When I do, it is an open-ended task that takes as long as needed, because it's so slow.

My files are stored on a network space. Would SWx Explorer find Where Used faster if I ran this upon the server instead of my client workstation?
Thanks.

[TRKemp]

I found it so slow, that I preferred to create my own which uses an index.
And with time I added a lot of other functions

• batch rename

• Batch rename from Excel

• Batch print

• Bach export

• ...

https://sites.google.com/site/bibotacconcept

Bookmarked, thanks for posting!

[Tom G]

Did I find a failing of Solidworks Explorer, or am I doing it wrong?

Somehow, sometime, someone (probably me, duh) duplicated a file into a new subdirectory in my library. It is used incredibly commonly in my work, tee.SLDPRT , a socketweld tee pipe fitting. I wanted to know where THIS file was used so that I can remove references to it and replace them if needed with the proper component. I believe this is not what I got in return. I think that it is returning every assembly or derived part which contains a reference to a file with this same name, but not THIS redundant file in this location.

That is, it shows me Where Used for both this bad one and the other, properly developed and stored file of the exact same name. The results are indistinguishable.

It is also returning, in the case of one derived part, components where this was used and then its reference was broken. What's the point of breaking this reference when it still finds it in a search for where used? I am so confused.

[TRKemp]

Did I find a failing of Solidworks Explorer, or am I doing it wrong?

Somehow, sometime, someone (probably me, duh) duplicated a file into a new subdirectory in my library. It is used incredibly commonly in my work, tee.SLDPRT , a socketweld tee pipe fitting. I wanted to know where THIS file was used so that I can remove references to it and replace them if needed with the proper component. I believe this is not what I got in return. I think that it is returning every assembly or derived part which contains a reference to a file with this same name, but not THIS redundant file in this location.

That is, it shows me Where Used for both this bad one and the other, properly developed and stored file of the exact same name. The results are indistinguishable.

It is also returning, in the case of one derived part, components where this was used and then its reference was broken. What's the point of breaking this reference when it still finds it in a search for where used? I am so confused.

Does seem like it's just a limitation of the program. Unless you can query by something that makes that part unique, I think its probably not going to help you find those needles in the proverbial haystack.

[jcapriotti]

Did I find a failing of Solidworks Explorer, or am I doing it wrong?

Somehow, sometime, someone (probably me, duh) duplicated a file into a new subdirectory in my library. It is used incredibly commonly in my work, tee.SLDPRT , a socketweld tee pipe fitting. I wanted to know where THIS file was used so that I can remove references to it and replace them if needed with the proper component. I believe this is not what I got in return. I think that it is returning every assembly or derived part which contains a reference to a file with this same name, but not THIS redundant file in this location.

That is, it shows me Where Used for both this bad one and the other, properly developed and stored file of the exact same name. The results are indistinguishable.

It is also returning, in the case of one derived part, components where this was used and then its reference was broken. What's the point of breaking this reference when it still finds it in a search for where used? I am so confused.

Maybe this is your saving grace. Provided both parts are identical copies, why not delete the copy (Ok...move and rename it for safe keeping), then do a rename on the original and let it find everything and update. Then rename it back. Seems like this would "update" all of the broken references to the second copy we just deleted.

Yeah, I don't get why the reference is still left in place when you break it. I get leaving a history in the file but not the actual reference. Pack n Go does ignore it but Rename does not.

[TRKemp]

So I updated to 2020 SP.5 yesterday, and lo and behold its missing a primary function for renaming assemblies with virtual components. Originally in 2019 SP.5 - there was a "search" button: you would check the box "include virtual components" , hit the "search" button - it would populate those items, then you could rename your assembly successfully.

Now if you just check the box - there is not a search function - and as I expected after a test - the references of those virtual components do not update and reference the new name

If anyone still has 2019 - they can probably verify the button I'm describing.

[jcapriotti]

So I updated to 2020 SP.5 yesterday, and lo and behold its missing a primary function for renaming assemblies with virtual components. Originally in 2019 SP.5 - there was a "search" button: you would check the box "include virtual components" , hit the "search" button - it would populate those items, then you could rename your assembly successfully.

Now if you just check the box - there is not a search function - and as I expected after a test - the references of those virtual components do not update and reference the new name

image.png

If anyone still has 2019 - they can probably verify the button I'm describing.

Yeah, you can tell they redesigned the dialogue, a lot of little changes.

[TRKemp]

Yeah, you can tell they redesigned the dialogue, a lot of little changes.
image.png

Yeah, that's the one. What a pain this is going to turn out to be... probably see it back in release 2022 SP.5....

[TRKemp]

Per the VAR: There is an open SPR for the issue....

"SPR 1194201: Virtual Component external references status becomes out of context after parent assembly is renamed"

Update..

My work-around so far is this:
Open drawing referencing the assembly you want to rename- open the assembly and rename it using "save as" with references.

Go to File > open > click on any other drawings that file is referenced in. Click on "references" in lower pane.

Double click on where the original file name is referenced and replace with the newly named file by browsing to it and selecting it from the list.

Delete the original after it's been replaced in all "where used" instances..

[mgibeault]

I was looking for SolidWorks Explorer (me too I feel the need for it every 5 years), and discovered it was dead for a long time...
Threehouse would be a nice place to implement the lost functionality. It almost does, as you can rename files and edit it's properties (not always but I don't want to loose time on this), but it's only for display purposes - it does not touch the files.
Again, very little foresight from DS.

[bnemec]

I never used SW eXplorer, it was on it's way out as we started with SW. But if it were at all like Solid Edge's Revision/Design Manager, then removing it would cripple a substantial part of the user base. It was a Move Tree, Copy Tree, mass data card editor, part swapper, Swiss Army Knife of SE file reference and attribute management. Any other users of Design Manager with Solid Edge?

[jcapriotti]

I was looking for SolidWorks Explorer (me too I feel the need for it every 5 years), and discovered it was dead for a long time...
Threehouse would be a nice place to implement the lost functionality. It almost does, as you can rename files and edit it's properties (not always but I don't want to loose time on this), but it's only for display purposes - it does not touch the files.
Again, very little foresight from DS.

You still have the right click menus for "Rename, Replace, Move....etc." That is all that is left of SW Explorer, now called "File Utilities" in the installer. The treehouse enhancement to take over the property editing would be nice.....I'd prefer a table view though.